The MLB Giants’ plan for affordable units in a multibillion-dollar mixed-use development across from AT&T Park was "warmly received by housing advocates," but also set off questions of "just how affordable" the housing would be, according to J.K. Dineen of the S.F. CHRONICLE. The plan has been revised to now build 33% affordable housing after criticism of the team’s earlier plan to "build only the mandatory" 15%. The Giants are going to "seek voter approval of the development in November." The team has not announced "a precise breakdown of what the below-market units would rent for." Giants Senior VP/Communications & Senior Advisor to the CEO Staci Slaughter said, "We want to offer a wide range so we can serve the folks with the lowest income as well as folks with more moderate income levels, like teachers and nurses" (S.F. CHRONICLE, 5/7).
WON'T YOU BE MY NEIGHBOR? A S.F. CHRONICLE editorial states the revised plans "will extend and complement the urban environment that came to life" after the ballpark opened in '00. In doing so, the Giants’ owners "showed once again that they may be as good at reading the public mood as putting world-championship teams on the field." But if there are "two things city residents are provably nervous about, they are tall development on the waterfront and the shortage of housing that is driving rents into the stratosphere." Giants President & CEO Larry Baer this week said, "We have a stake in this community for the long haul." He also said that "input from neighborhood residents played into the vision for the new mixed-use development." The editorial noted this plan is a "dramatic departure" from the '08 concept of a “ballpark village” (S.F. CHRONICLE, 5/7).
