SAN FRANCISCO—A 12-story development that provides 135 affordable apartments and helps dispel the notion that high-rises are not an appropriate building model for low-income families has been selected the overall winner in Affordable Housing Finance’s Readers’ Choice Awards.

10th and Mission Family Housing is the first affordable housing high-rise built in San Francisco in about 20 years.

The $69 million project, which includes a 5,000-square-foot youth center and commercial space, was developed by Mercy Housing California.

The development was financed with more than $25 million from the San Francisco Redevelopment Agency. The project also uses 4 percent low-income housing tax credit equity from RBC Capital Markets and a tax-exempt bond-backed loan from Union Bank. The Department of Housing and Urban Development helped fund the youth center through its Economic Development Initiative.

In addition to being voted the top overall development, 10th and Mission Family Housing was chosen as the best urban project.

The magazine received more than 140 nominations this year. Subscribers then selected the winners from 33 finalists.

The others winners are:

  • Family: Petaluma Avenue Homes in Sebastopol, Calif., developed by Affordable Housing Associates;
  • Green: Casa Feliz Studios in San Jose, Calif., developed by First Community Housing and The John Stewart Co.;
  • Historic Rehab: Britton Budd Apartments in Chicago, developed by the Chicago Housing Authority;
  • Master-Planned/Mixed-Use: Mosaica in San Francisco, developed by Citizens Housing Corp. and Tenderloin Neighborhood Development Corp.;
  • Preservation: Ashland Village in San Leandro, Calif., developed by Eden Housing;
  • Rural: Villa San Juan Bautista in Centralia, Wash., developed by Catholic Housing Services;
  • Seniors: The Terraces on Tulane in New Orleans, developed by Volunteers of America;
  • Special-needs: New Carver Apartments in Los Angeles, developed by Skid Row Housing Trust.

The winners will be featured in the November/December issue and will be recognized at a luncheon concluding AHF Live: The 2010 Affordable Housing Developers’ Summit on Nov. 5 at the Fairmont Millennium Park in Chicago.