San Francisco Democrats spent MILLIONS on $100K cabins for the homeless. A year later and they’re empty

Tiny cabins that were purchased using about $7 million of taxpayers’ money in a bid to ease San Francisco’s homelessness crisis are still not being used more than a year later.

The 60 sheds, which were bought by Democrat former mayor London Breed for the staggering cost of more than $100k each, have been left sitting vacant in a parking lot in Bayview.

Less than a block away from the unused units lies an encampment of homeless people, with tents, mattresses and cardboard strewn across the street, according to The San Francisco Chronicle. 

The city has been grappling with a shameful reputation for the number of people sleeping on the streets despite it being one of the wealthiest places on the planet.

‘If they opened up those extra cabins, they’d fill them right up,’ said Johnte McDowell, 50, a homeless man from nearby Hunters Point who ended up on the streets after a divorce. 

‘Having my own little box sounds very appealing,’ he told the outlet.

The units, which were initially located at a lot on the Mission, had to be moved to make way for a long-planned affordable housing project. According to documents seen by The Standard, they were then set to be moved to SoMa. 

When that plan faced a public backlash, the plug was pulled and they were moved to their current site, the outlet reported.

Steve Good, the CEO of Five Keys, a nonprofit organization, told outlet that city officials have not reached out to him to discuss alternative locations for the cabins. 

‘It’s unfortunate that we have 60 beds that can’t be utilized. It seems like a lost opportunity,’ he said. 

Daniel Lurie, San Francisco’s current mayor and a fellow Democrat who ousted Breed in 2024, has trumpeted what he says are improving statistics around homelessness. He claims the number of unsheltered people, those living in on the streets in tents or vehicles, is at a 15-year low.

‘We have more work to do, but we will be relentless until every San Franciscan has the safe, clean streets they deserve,’ he said in May. 

Critics say the 2026 figures, which counted 3,4000 unsheltered people in the city, can not be compared like for like with data from previous years because of the way they were compiled.

In a statement to the Daily Mail, a city spokesman said: ‘Operating a shelter requires significantly more than placing cabins on a site. Any location must have the appropriate infrastructure, services, staffing, funding and operational model, along with meaningful community engagement. 

‘After significant due diligence, the city determined that the 11th Street site under consideration was not appropriate for this use.’

The spokeswoman said the city had had success with other similar cabins at Jerrold Commons and 33 Gough.

‘The city is committed to making thoughtful use of these resources, but we must ensure that a proposal is operationally viable,’ she said.

The Daily Mail has reached out to Lurie and Breed for comment.

Critics of Mayor Lurie have publicly spoken out against the lack of urgency in his relocation plan. Supervisor Shamann Walton, who represents the Bayview area, said:

‘Against the wishes of the community and after breaking promises… Mayor Lurie opened a tiny cabin site.’

‘Mayor Lurie is an oligarch who most certainly does not care about collaboration or cooperation,’ Walton said. 

Kunal Modi, Lurie’s senior homelessness adviser, has previously shared his frustrations about what he said was a lack of coordination in efforts to counteract the problem.

‘We spend an extraordinary amount of money, but silos keep us from reaching the needed outcomes,’ said Modi in a statement. 

‘Homelessness happens when every other system and support has failed’