600 7th embodies and advances the mission of Mercy Housing California, one of the nation’s most renowned affordable housing developers and operators, to deliver an integrated approach to permanently supportive housing. 600 Seventh offers affordable housing that provides residents with a satisfying living environment– one that integrates shared public spaces, public art, and levels of on-site service to meet the varying needs of those who live there.
A companion to an adjacent market-rate development, the new building, 600 Seventh, achieves high density for San Francisco, at 250+ units per acre. The project comprises 221 units in two wings designed to seamlessly accommodate a mix of residents with different needs. Roughly half of the units serve those recovering from homelessness. These permanently supportive housing (PSH) units form one wing, and include 20 family-sized apartments and 100 studio apartments for single adults, all of whom are served by on-site case managers and health care staff. The second wing includes an additional 100 units that serve families earning between 35% and 80% of the area median income, as well as an apartment for the on-site building manager.
Within the new building, Santos Prescott designed repetitive apartment plans with identical bathrooms allowing for extensive prefabrication of the mechanical and plumbing components, reducing complexity and enabling accelerated installation during construction. Cost savings in this facet of the project enabled provision of amenities for residents that mitigate the higher density. These include generous outdoor spaces and interior features such as day-lit corridors and small break-out rooms on each floor. Ground floor office spaces for an on-site nurse, mental health counseling, and management, are designed to offer both privacy for service provision and a feeling of vitality at the street level.
The project is all-electric and achieved a platinum rating in the Green Point Rated system.