About 15 tenants and their supporters gathered last week to celebrate a new affordable housing program at The Meridian, a Canal Street apartment complex on the San Rafael Creek.
Congratulatory speeches flooded the outdoor space next to the leasing office, a place where the tenants once held a rally to protest increased rents and evictions. But this evening, the group happily discussed how their determination brought about positive change. They had organized, formed a tenant union, become educated on housing policy and stood their ground for years.
In fact, it took three years for tenants to reach an agreement with the building owner, Tesseract Capital Group. For the tenants, it finally paid off. The owner converted the building from market rate housing to affordable housing. And Tesseract agreed to terms that go beyond the minimum requirements, bringing substantial benefits to the tenants…