New housing on Treasure Island for formerly homeless veterans
SAN FRANCISCO - Treasure Island had a ribbon cutting Thursday for the first new building that offers over one hundred units of affordable housing to previously homeless veterans.
The Maceo May Apartments is named after one of the earliest local advocates of homeless veterans, who died in 2014, but whose legend lives on with healthy housing for homeless veterans.
Mayor London Breed, Supervisor Matt Dorsey and members of several organizations were on hand for the grand opening.
This is the first new apartment building on the island that hosted the World’s Fair in 1939. Modular units made the construction project move quickly; the building went up in just one year. The community centered design has conference rooms, common areas and walkways and provides a beautiful view of the City’s skyline from various parts of the building including the outdoor terrace on the second floor.
Treasure Island was used as a base for the armed services during wartime. It was decommissioned in 1997, around the time Swords to Plowshares started advocating to place homeless veterans on the former base.
Maceo May’s cousin Leslie May spoke fondly of his efforts and his commitment to community, saying he was a proud veteran and made it a priority to take care of as many of his fellow veterans as possible through advocacy and leadership.
There were several challenges with the project, including delays due to supply chain issues during the pandemic and more recently atmospheric rivers and power outages.
Community partners that worked together on the project included Swords to Plowshares, the Chinese Community Development Center as well as city, state, and federal housing agencies.
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A former resident of the island after college, Mayor Breed says she’s excited about what the project offers for new housing, indicating ‘We will have 8,000 units and 2,200 affordable units here on Treasure Island."
Regina Record served in the Air Force Reserves in the 1970s and her 87-year-old father served in Vietnam in the Navy. During the pandemic, Record was concerned about her father, who lived in South San Francisco, a commute for her to visit and she was lonely herself. Now they share a large two-bedroom apartment with accessibility features that meet her father’s needs- as he gets around in a wheelchair.
They moved in to their first-floor apartment two weeks ago, Record says, already- it feels like home! Standing in her open kitchen with large ceilings and sun pouring in from the large windows, she says, "It’s amazing! I love it!"
Alice Wertz Twitter @AlicesTake and Instagram @wayiseesit