As their public housing project in Marin City begins to undergo a massive renovation, the residents of Golden Gate Village posed questions Thursday night to the new leader of the Marin Housing Authority and their incoming property managers from nonprofit developer Burbank Housing.

On neutral ground, with a moderator and on record, the Rev. Floyd Thompkins hosted the community information meeting at St. Andrew Presbyterian Church of Marin City. He opened with a prayer and rules for engagement. The residents’ questions revealed the anxieties surrounding the renovation of the historic housing project that defines Marin City.

“This is not a political meeting,” Thompkins said. “This is really a meeting about how we stand together.”

“We are a team of dedicated folks who really want to bring affordable housing to our community,” said Jocelyn Lin, chief real estate development officer for Burbank Housing. “We’re here to serve you.”

Lin was joined by Burbank’s senior project manager, Riley Weissenborn.

Marin Housing Authority executive director Tonia Lediju, who has been on the job for three weeks, pledged to address recurring problems faced by residents at Golden Gate Village, like rodents, parking conflicts and mismanagement of paperwork. She also offered assurances about the upcoming Phase 1 renovation, which includes a temporary relocation of residents in 88 units.

“If you are in Phase 1, you are preparing to pack up soon and before you leave, you will sign your lease with Burbank,” Lediju said. “You will be coming right back to your same unit. If you left unit 505, you will return to unit 505.”

Historic refresh for postwar project

Golden Gate Village is a 30-acre 296-unit postwar public housing project that is about to undergo a multiyear transformation. Built in 1961, it is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and received federal recognition for design excellence in 1964.

It is credited with returning some dignity to Black workers who had been prevented from moving to other Bay Area neighborhoods by racially restrictive covenants when the federal government closed the Marinship yard after World War II.

The price tag for the full renovation is $266.6 million, and it will be done in two phases. When it is all over, tenants will return to refurbished apartments with new kitchens and bathrooms, new electrical appliances, dishwashers and in-unit laundry machines.

“Think about where public housing has been built. It has increased or compacted poverty. There is no intent that something is going to be taken away. There is no intent to move you off the program. …”

Tonia Lediju, Marin Housing Authority

Several residents asked whether they would be able to keep washing machines they purchased themselves.

“We will come to you and ask you questions about what you own,” Lediju said. “So that we can offer a fair value for what you have purchased.”

Residents asked about pest control during the demolition and construction. Burbank representative Weissenborn said the company has hired Orkin to service Phase 1 and is working to prevent pests from moving between buildings by inspecting perimeters for holes and crevices that can be patched.

The way that the renovation is financed will change the economic infrastructure that sustains Golden Gate Village. After the renovation, the land will still be owned by the MHA, but the buildings will be co-owned by the MHA and Burbank Housing. According to the HUD website, a public or nonprofit entity must always maintain a controlling interest in the property to ensure its public use.

Those people residing in the newly renovated buildings will be on a lease with Burbank. Tenants will pay 30% of their income in rent, and a Section 8 voucher will make up the difference between what the tenant pays and the market value of the unit. That system is called a Housing Choice Voucher program.

Rents to remain unchanged

Burbank will share in the mortgage on the renovation loans and pay them back using money from rents and Section 8 voucher payments coming from the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development.

“Public housing is deeply, sorely underfunded,” Lediju said. “The rents that HUD pays on a public housing unit is probably four times lower than what is paid on the Housing Choice Voucher program. By having a higher rent subsidy, it then helps to ensure that the property can be much better cared for and maintained.”

“Rent will not increase after the revitalization,” said Lediju, adding that people who are behind on rent, and are on a payment plan, are still considered in good standing and have the right to return to their own unit. She added that the new system provides residents a choice to take their Section 8 voucher to another place in the Bay Area after a certain period of time.

Lediju said the new voucher program will counter historical patterns of segregation, and people may prefer to live someplace very different than traditionally built public housing.

“Think about where public housing has been built. It has increased or compacted poverty,” she said. “There is no intent that something is going to be taken away. There is no intent to move you off the program. The intent is no different than me having an opportunity to make a choice of where I would like to live.”

“I’ve been 76 years in Marin City,” said one resident about the now-shrinking numbers of Black residents. “I was born here. My main memory of Marin City is that it was always like family. We had people come from all over San Francisco who have left.”

According to Burbank Housing officials, relocation dates for the first phase remain delayed pending federal historic preservation approvals.