Annex-Terrace Redevelopment Problems Persist

The plan to rebuild the Potrero Annex and Terrace houseing complex began in 2005, as part of HOPE-SF, a collaboration between the Mayor’s Office of Housing and Community Development (MOHCD) and the San Francisco Housing Authority (SFHA).

Proposition A, passed by voters in 2016, provided bond monies to fund the project. That same year, BRIDGE Housing Corporation (BHC) was awarded the construction contract. In 2019, it completed the first 72 units, at 1101 Connecticut Street, and most recently finished work on EVE Community Village, formerly known as Block B, located immediately adjacent to the Annex.

Progress at Annex-Terrace, however, has been delayed by problems, some of which date to 2022, when the Eugene Burger Management Corporation (EBMC) was responsible for managing the property. In addition to not performing proper maintenance, EBMC did little to prevent squatters from occupying empty units scheduled for demolition, creating conditions that San Francisco Fire Department officials believe contributed to a 2023 blaze that killed 40-year-old Richard Gescat, who Mission Local reported was a probable squatter, and displaced numerous residents and trespassers.

The trouble deepened when allegations emerged that an EBMC employee, Lance Whittenberg, was renting units to residents who paid cash, which he kept. After Whittenberg was fired by EBMC, an investigation conducted by the City Attorney’s office produced no corroborating evidence that he’d engaged in such activity.

The City allowed EBMC’s Annex-Terrace management contract to expire, hiring as a replacement Bell Properties in 2025. District 10 Supervisor Shamann Walton agreed this was a necessary step and added that no one has complained to him about Bell.

Changing property managers didn’t resolve the City’s obligation to relocate current Annex tenants before demolition of existing Annex buildings can begin to make way for the next development stage, something MOHCD spokesperson Anne Stanley said SFHA is coordinating with Bell properties and BHC.

According to the July agenda for a Citywide Affordable Housing Loan Committee meeting, which convened to vote on allocating funding for affordable housing development, BHC wanted to start demolishing Annex buildings last September. That didn’t happen because many of the units remain occupied despite municipal efforts to empty them. In a statement provided to the View, BHC said there was no specific timeline update to share, but it remains committed to moving forward with demolition as swiftly and responsibly as possible.

Ora Prochovnik, Director of Litigation and Policy for the Eviction Defense Collaborative, said the Housing Authority has been assisting everyone it considers authorized lease tenants by giving them either a substitute unit on site or Section 8 vouchers to find a new place on the market. But SFHA hasn’t offered these options to residents who claim they were paying Whittenberg because they view them as unleased.

Prochovnik disagreed with this position. “We believe many of them are eligible for the same assistance,” she said, “because of the legal history of their occupancy of those units.”

In the latest round of the continuing battle, the City issued new 60-day eviction notices in September, effectively waiving notices that were delivered 18 months earlier. As a result, lawsuits filed against the previous notices will now likely be dismissed; new lawsuits can’t be started until November 22, the day after the September notices expire.

In addition to eviction notices, the City has tried other methods to get Annex residents to vacate the units, including $5,000 Airbnb credit cards. Some have taken the offer, but others remain.

Adding to the complexity, a change in leadership was initiated when Dr. Tonia Lediju stepped down as the Housing Authority’s chief executive officer in August after six years in the position. Statements issued by the Mayor’s Office and Dr. Lediju didn’t disclose a specific reason for her resignation, nor did she respond to multiple requests for comment.

Following her departure, Mayor Daniel Lurie appointed Dan Adams, who has served as MOHCD director since January, 2024, to take over as the Housing Authority’s interim CEO. Adams previously served as MOHCD Deputy and Acting Director from 2017 until 2020.. A request to speak with Mr. Adams was answered by Stanley, who said that he wasn’t giving interviews. 

According to Stanley, the Mayor directed MOHCDto  identify opportunities to combine SFHA and MOHCD functions.

“In his current roles as both Director of MOHCD and Acting Executive Director of SFHA, Dan Adams is focusing on increasing program alignment and coordination between the two agencies,” Stanley said.

She described the effort as consistent with the City’s 2019 memorandum of understanding with the U.S. Housing and Urban Development (HUD) when it assumed responsibility for key functions of the Housing Authority, a process initiated by Lediju when she was appointed by Mayor London Breed to oversee SFHA’s finances after HUD informed the City that both the Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) and the public housing programs were in default. Within a year, Lediju had cured the default to HUD’s satisfaction.

“Defining the SFHA leadership role and recruiting for that position is pending completion of MOHCD’s and SFHA’s integration planning,” Stanley said, work she expected would be completed in the first quarter of 2026.