Silicon Valley Bank Collapse Puts San Francisco’s Affordable Housing Projects in Limbo

By Josh Koehn, Ida Mojadad, Kevin Truong : sfstandard – excerpt

Affordable housing projects in San Francisco could be in peril after the sudden collapse of Silicon Valley Bank, which not only counts tech startups among its clientele but also manages assets for many low-income housing developers in the region.

A high-ranking City Hall official told The Standard that at least two affordable housing projects could be adversely impacted after federal regulators shut down Silicon Valley Bank on Friday and froze more than $200 billion in assets.

“I’m aware of a couple affordable housing projects that could be impacted,” the source said. “It’s real—there is a real, tangible impact beyond the rattling of the cages of investors and the markets.”…

Anne Stanley, a spokesperson for the Mayor’s Office of Housing and Community Development, said the agency is still trying to identify all projects that could be affected…

Laura Foote, the executive director of pro-development nonprofit YIMBY Action, estimated as many as 20 affordable housing projects in San Francisco could be impacted, but she suggested a wholesale catastrophe is less likely than minor delays in funding and project timelines…(more)