"The old-style banquet hall is coming back to Chinatown's New Asia restaurant that is now a grocery store, along with 175 units of affordable housing on top, thanks to a $33.5 million state grant that Mayor Lurie says just came through. It's been eight full years since the City of San Francisco bought the land on which Chinatown's New Asia restaurant sits (772 Pacific Avenue) with plans to build an affordable housing complex for seniors on top of the restaurant and banquet hall."
"Though not much has happened with that plan since. But plenty has happened to the restaurant itself, which transitioned into a grocery store during the pandemic, when the banquet hall model became infeasible. We heard some rumblings right before Chinese New Year weekend 2024 that the affordable housing plan was back on. It was not back on for long, though, as this past August, the Chronicle reported that the state funding to help build the project had fallen through."
"Meanwhile, the interior of the New Asia remains a grocery store at a time when restaurants are perfectly viable again, with the puzzling sight of chandeliers and a stage amongst the racks of produce and food. But Mayor Daniel Lurie held a Wednesday morning press conference to announce that the affordable housing complex that was going to be built above the building is back on track, with its funding restored."
The City purchased the New Asia site at 772 Pacific Avenue eight years ago to build affordable senior housing above the restaurant and banquet hall. The restaurant converted to a grocery store during the pandemic when banquet events became infeasible, leaving chandeliers and a stage amid produce racks. State funding for the housing project fell through in August, halting progress. A newly announced $33.5 million state grant has restored funding, and city leadership says the plan will deliver 175 units of 100% affordable senior housing while bringing back the banquet hall on the ground floor.
Read at sfist.com
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