BRIDGE held its first-ever Stein & Colwell Scholarships Virtual Celebration on Oct. 20. We heard from several of this year’s 54 recipients, whose studies range from social work and counseling to environmental studies, economics and creative writing.

Guest speaker Kwame Owusu-Kesse, CEO of the Harlem Children’s Zone, described the impact of a scholarship on his own life and affirmed the value of BRIDGE’s work. “I believe very much in investing in communities that are often forgotten about, and helping them unlock the potential that exists,” he said. “I am so grateful for the work of BRIDGE Housing.”

During the event, attendees generously contributed $59,000 to Fund-a-Scholar, bringing the fundraising total for the event to nearly $400,000, enough for 66 scholarships to help residents build brighter futures! We are grateful to lead sponsors Swinerton, Nibbi, Cahill and CohnReznick and all of our sponsors and donors.

BRIDGE celebrated the ceremonial groundbreaking of 137 affordable homes at 4840 Mission earlier this month with San Francisco Mayor London Breed, District 11 Supervisor Ahsha Safai and Brenda Storey of the Mission Neighborhood Health Center. The 100% affordable housing development will feature a community room, bicycle parking, public art and an expanded branch of the health center, which will offer low-cost medical, behavioral health, and dental services to the neighborhood.

BRIDGE has released the “2020 Rebuild Potrero Impact Report,” a new paper that highlights progress to date of a large-scale neighborhood revitalization initiative in San Francisco. Using resident survey data, this report highlights the results of housing stabilization and economic mobility strategies BRIDGE implemented during the first phase of redevelopment. Among the report’s findings: Of the 53 families that moved from the original public housing into the first new residential building, 100% have retained their housing.

BRIDGE Housing and development partners Touchstone and Essex Property Trust are entering into negotiations with regional agency Sound Transit to create a 6.88-acre transit-oriented development (TOD) across from the Spring District-120th Station. BRIDGE will serve as the qualified entity, master developer and affordable housing developer. The conceptual site plan is pictured above.