Britton Courts
SunnyDale Ave. & Britton St.
San Francisco, California 94134 		Back to project list
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Geneva Towers, one of San Francisco's most troubled public housing projects, was demolished in May 1998. Britton Street Housing provides 91 units that rehouse many of the residents of Geneva Towers as well as other low-income residents. The new setting is the inverse of the isolating high-rise environment it replaced. Britton Courts embodies the principles of neighborhood building and urban repair delineated in the Charter of New Urbanism, such as the use of vernacular building types and materials, and re-establishment of existing, surrounding city streets.

  Exterior street view of Britton Courts showing entry.
Credit: Courtesy of Grant Mudford
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  Developer 1 Developer 2 Architect 1 Architect 2
  Housing Conservation and Development Corporation
1637 Ocean Avenue
San Francisco, CA 94112
p: 415-586-8000
f: 415-586-1059
e: hcdc_@prodigy.net
 Mercy Housing Corporation
1038 Howard Street
San Francisco, CA 94103
p: 415-487-6825
f: 415-487-6834
w: www.mercy housing.org		 Solomon E.T.C.
246 First Street, Suite 400
San Francisco, CA 94105
p: 415-227-4081
f: 415-227-4081
e: general@solomon architecture.com
w: www.solomon architecture.com		 Michael Willis & Associates
246 First Street, Suite 200
San Francisco, CA 94105
p: 415-957-2750
f: 415-957-2780
w: www.mercy housing.org
         
  Residential Type(s) Location Type Tenure Year Completed
  single family attached housing (rowhouse, townhouse), multi-unit housing city rental 2000
         
  Unit Type
Number
Square Footage
 Building Area Construction Type
  1 Bedroom 95,469 sf new construction
  2 Bedroom 63 850 sf    
  3 Bedroom 21 1,100 sf Site Area Construct. Practice
  4 Bedroom 8 1,200 sf 3.677 acres built on-site
  Efficiency    
  Other Density
  Total 92   25 units/acre  
     
         
  Amenities Square Footage Building Construction Costs
  Community Room 840 sf Total cost $120/sf
  Day Care Center 1,618 sf Residential hard costs n/a
  Management Office 840 sf Podium parking costs n/a
  Parking 120 spaces    
         
  Funding Sources Donated Services & Materials
  California Housing Finance Agency Trees donated by Urban Forests, Inc.
  Mayor's Office of Housing
  Bank of America
  Tax credits    
       
  Target Residents Target Household Income
  two parent households, single parent households, extended family households, other: the target residents were those who previously lived in a housing project which was demolished. 50% - 60% of area median income
         
  Achieving Affordability: Strategies Description
  shared uses and amenities, cost-effective materials and equipment, cost-effective construction practices, tax credits, low interest loans, financial subsidies: Grant from the San Francisco Mayor's Office of Building
         
  Priority Design Objectives
  Minimize construction cost Contain costs Neighborhood & household fit Household & Neigh'd
         
  Strategies
 

Contain construction and lifecycle costs:

The project remained in budget through the use of inexpensive materials and straightforward construction details, while achieving diversity in the unit types, courtyards, and streetscape.

Support household and neighborhood fit:

Britton Courts' design is integrated into the surrounding neighborhood fabric by use of vernacular building types and materials. By continuing existing city streets through the site, Britton Courts has become a part of a larger neighborhood rather than a housing project on a super block that is alien to its surroundings.

    
   
   
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