Trinity Plaza redevelopment — on again?

Trinity Plaza at Market & 8th used to be a hotel and now it’s a political football as well as home to 360 low-income tenants. The owner wants to build 1,900 new apartments, give the current 360 tenants lifetime leases at their rent-controlled rates, and add 185 units of below-market rate housing. Trinity Plaza is in Chris Daly’s district, and since he’s the biggest tantrum-thower on the board, one might expect that when this deal was struck it would stick. However, late in 2006 Sophie Maxwell and Jake McGoldrick demanded more below-market rate units and almost scuttled the whole deal when the developer threatened to throw up his hands and walk away. More background on the project is here.

The Planning Commission just voted to send the proposal back to the Supervisors for another vote, and Daly is saying that he thinks McGoldrick’s demand of 46 to 48 more affordable units will be met by the developer, Angelo Sangiacomo. That’s according to today’s Examiner.

No word from Sangiacomo yet on what he’ll do.

This is desperately needed housing that protects current tenants and will help revitalize a run-down area. Leave it to the supervisors, who are big fans of changing the rules retroactively, to jeopardize this development by trying to force a later set of rules on an earlier agreement. We’ll keep you posted as this progresses.