50 years in 50 weeks: 2015: Work begins on senior housing project
After years of delays and negotiations to see that it was affordable, the Bay Area Reporter's April 16, 2015 issue had good news for LGBTQ seniors: work was finally beginning on a below-market-rate apartment complex at 55 Laguna Street.
The project, 40 residential units on the site of a former teachers' college, was overseen by Openhouse, a nonprofit that provides services to LGBTQ seniors, and Mercy Housing California.
Over a year later, in November 2016, the first residents began moving in, as the B.A.R. reported. Due to anti-discrimination laws, the city could not restrict the lottery used to select residents to LGBTQ people, but it turned out that about 60% of the residents identified as LGBTQ.
Construction of the second phase of the project, a new building at 95 Laguna Street with 79 units, started in 2017 and was completed in 2019 for the LGBTQ-welcoming senior housing.
