Housing Is A Human Right

​After a long walk from Stockton St, we finally made it over the hill to 1535 Jackson St. This building was a former hospital built in 1913. It currently has 19 Single Room Occupancies (SRO). The church that owned the building put it on the market and was offered over 3 million dollars by the public. I was relieved to learn that CCDC was able to buy the building through the small sites program. If market-rate housing is built here, it will displace the current tenants. 

The hallways were very wide. In fact, they were wide enough for couches and other furniture. Keeping anything in the hallways are rare for SRO buildings because they can be fire hazards in narrow spaces. The rooms were on the larger scale and some even had closets. Because it is a detached building, the units had big windows that allowed a lot of natural light to come in. 

​CCDC plans to renovate the building because it does have structural issues. It will most likely cost millions of dollars just for construction and much more if the current residents need to be moved out temporarily. I am hopeful to see this building again after the renovation.