Tenants Displaced From Flooded San Francisco Luxury Apartment Won’t Return Home This Year Amid Unfinished Repairs

US-CALIFORNIA-HOMELESSNESS-TECH-SANFRANCISCO — (Photo : (Photo credit should read JOSH EDELSON/AFP via Getty Images)) Downtown San Francisco, California is seen from above on February 6, 2019. - San Francisco, once home to flower power, hippies and dope, has changed dramatically: these days, it is all about Facebook, Twitter and Google, the multi-billion dollar tech giants who have turned it into one of the world's most expensive cities to live in. Average monthly rent for a two-room apartment in the city by the bay now runs to $3,700, the highest in the United States. And a household of four with annual earnings of less than $117,400 is officially officially considered "low income." "We see now a kind of homelessness that did not occur before, people who work, that is new, said Cary McClelland, author of the 2018 book "Silicon City" which examines how the city has changed.

The displaced tenants of a San Francisco high-rise apartment are unlikely to return to their homes this year as repairs grind on more than a year after the flooding.

More than 400 residents were forced to evacuate from their apartments at 33 Tehama Street in South of Market after water pipes burst, releasing more than 20,000 gallons of water into the 35-story luxury tower in June of 2022.

Since then, Houston-based developer Hines has been working to repair the damage caused by the flooding. Residents were initially told they could return to their homes in 2022, but it was later pushed back to the second half of 2023. But with the repairs still unfinished 17 months after the incident, residents are unlikely to return to 33 Tehama until next year.

"We appreciate your ongoing patience. Please know that we are making every effort to provide as much certainty as possible around schedules and return timing," Hines told residents in an email, as reported by the San Francisco Chronicle. "We are focused on preparing for your return and we look forward to welcoming you home."

In the email, Hines also said that final inspections of the building are slated to take place in December, adding that the result of the checks will give them "more clarity about the return process."

It is unclear how much damage was caused by the flooding. However, permits issued by the San Francisco Department of Building Inspection suggested that the flooding damaged 93 apartments and the cost of repairs exceed $7 million, per The Real Deal.

33 Tehama Lawsuits

In the months following the June flooding, some residents have filed lawsuits against Hines. In those filings, the residents alleged the company's actions before and after the flooding amounted to negligence, adding that building managers knew about the plumbing problems but failed to fix them.

In addition to the lawsuits, allegations of theft also circulated on social media after a contractor was seen pocketing items from an apartment unit that was undergoing repairs. This occured after 33 Tehama flooded for a second time in August 2022. Hines later acknowledged the theft and terminated the employee.