By Sonner Kehrt, Mission Local
In the small, bright patch of sunlight that filters down between the buildings, a woman in a pink shirt pauses to admire a mural. It’s bold, with brightly colored shapes that are accentuated by the nearby flowers and another colorful painting on an opposite wall. In the small alleyway between the two pieces of artwork, a small group plays guitar while a couple strolls by, arm in arm.
It’s not the scene that immediately comes to mind when discussions about affordable housing come up, and to be fair, it’s not even actually a real scene — yet. It’s depicted in an architectural rendering of the Paseo Artista, a public pedestrian alley that will define one side of the new 100 percent affordable housing development at 1950 Mission St. near 16th St., which is tentatively scheduled to break ground in early 2018.
Seven fully affordable housing projects are scheduled to be built in the Mission in the next several years. Together with community organizations, architects are confronting the challenges of integrating 100 percent affordable housing developments into the larger neighborhood, working to create buildings that take advantage of their location in the Mission but also seek to offer something to the Mission in return by drawing on the best ideas in design.
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