It was acquired in 1999 by Tenderloin Neighborhood Development Corporation (TNDC), a non-profit group dedicated to providing affordable housing for low-income and formerly unhoused persons. Under TNDC, residents of the Ambassador Hotel, a vitally important place in San Francisco’s queer history, benefit from on-site amenities and support, including social services, single-room occupancy (SRO) units with private baths, communal kitchens, and laundry rooms.

The recent renovation, completed by PTA in 2023, provided critical seismic upgrades and converted 14 units to ADA-accessible apartments, broadening the building’s reach. The major challenge of this project was finding a way to install a seismic, lateral bracing system into the building. Since the building was composed of very small SRO rooms, there was no space to absorb a structural bracing system within the building. The solution was to install a system of vertical, exterior braced frames tied to a series of horizontal steel trusses embedded below the floor assembly at each level. This combination of vertical exterior frames and horizontal interior trusses combine to stabilize the building during an earthquake while preserving the already limited space within the units. PTA also led additional improvements, including new interior finishes, electrical updates, modernized elevators, a full lobby remodel, new roof, and updates to both the Wi-Fi and security systems.