Mission District miracle: S.F. nonprofit buys apartment building, and a dozen tenants breathe a little easier

""It's really a relief, the stability and the security. Over the years we always thought 'What if somebody sells our building?'" said Alana Herron, a high school teacher in the Excelsior who has lived in the building for 24 years. "This really means a lot.""

""This has been a lot of work, and it's been great to see it culminate in knowing that these long-term residents will be able to stay in their home," said Kyle Smeallie, the policy director for the land trust."

""For them to have the feeling that they don't have to worry about that anymore ... that's a sense of relief that is really palpable," said Smeallie."

The San Francisco Community Land Trust purchased the five-unit building at 3235 16th St., preserving rent-controlled units and preventing tenant displacement. The building, built in 1905, contains five residential units and a ground-floor commercial space occupied by Barnets Salon. About a dozen tenants live there, many for decades, and residents expressed relief and security at the acquisition. Conversations with prior owner Deborah V. Vanpatten began after she notified the nonprofit of an intended sale. The land trust paid $1.55 million with loans from the city's Small Sites Program. The Community Opportunity to Purchase Act grants qualified nonprofits a right of first refusal.

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