Mission Local, by Madison Alvarado
San Francisco real estate developers Mel Murphy, Luke O’Brien and James Kavanaugh are in the process of converting a residential board-and-care facility into a duplex, according to city documents.
Up until a fire in August 2015, 628 Shotwell St. operated as a residential facility for six adults. The proposed change of use would eliminate the possibility of reopening the building as a board-and-care facility.
It’s a loss to the city’s stock of board-and-care facilities “that should have never happened,” said Sara Shortt, director of public policy and community organizing at the Community Housing Partnership. The city, she said, should have stepped in to purchase the property or located another property where it could at least replace that facility. “Any of these properties we lose right now means a net loss in resources for extremely low-income people with behavioral health issues.”