Notre Dame Plaza

Notre Dame Plaza is the adaptive re-use of the historic Notre Dame High School that was converted into affordable senior housing. The original structure was part of the famous Mission Dolores founded in 1776. The property was destroyed by an earthquake in 1906, rebuilt in 1908 as Notre Dame High School and then was used as an artist's studio in 1908. This project involved the comprehensive transformation and preservation of existing buildings and new construction of courtyards, access way and other housing-related components. In 1997, Mercy Housing transformed the Notre Dame building into 66 units of HUD Section 202 senior housing which includes a new lobby, community room, gardens, reading areas and a two-story skylight aviary. All historic elements were preserved while maximizing the amount of units that could fit comfortably into the existing building.