San Mateo County community devastated over affordable housing project razed by fire

When fire razed a massive affordable housing complex under construction in unincorporated San Mateo County earlier this month, it decimated a decade of work to bring badly needed homes to some of the Peninsula’s most vulnerable residents and shook a community that had been eagerly awaiting the security stable housing provides.

Now, local officials are vowing to rebuild the homes — which had been slated to open next year — although a new timeline and details about who will foot the bill remain unclear.

“For those that were hoping to move in next year, this has obviously changed,” San Mateo County Supervisor Warren Slocum, who represents the area, said in a phone interview.

The Middlefield Junction project in North Fair Oaks, a community with a median household income roughly a third lower than its more affluent neighbors in San Mateo County, was 10 years in the works when flames tore through the construction site on June 3.

In a matter of hours, 104 units burned to the ground, stalling the hopes of hundreds of residents who have for years been awaiting affordable housing in the county, where the median sales price for homes is north of $2 million.

The construction company, James E. Roberts-Obayashi Corp., described the fire as “the worst disaster in the company’s 92-year history.” The cause remains under investigation, according to fire officials.

Middlefield Junction, developed by nonprofit Mercy Housing, aimed to provide 179 affordable housing units, including 20 for those experiencing homelessness.

North Fair Oaks is a working-class community of about 14,000 people, many of them immigrants, bordering the affluent cities of Redwood City, Atherton and Menlo Park. Middlefield Junction was slated to be the largest affordable complex in North Fair Oaks.

The $155 million project, which Slocum championed, had a variety of funding sources, including loans from the county and Housing Authority of San Mateo County, the American Rescue Plan Act, and Measure K, a local sales tax

Slocum said after the fire that he, the county and developers are “100% committed to rebuilding for those families that will occupy the affordable housing units.”

But the county, along with the construction company and Mercy Housing, are still assessing the cost of rebuilding and how much insurance will cover.

The fire hit during a time when housing is badly needed in San Mateo County, and homelessness continues to worsen. A recent survey found that homelessness jumped 18% over the last two years, and state regulators say the county needs to add thousands of homes, especially for lower-income residents, in the coming years to keep up with demand. 

Kathleen Daly, chairperson of the North Fair Oaks Council, was distraught the day the project caught fire. “It was devastating,” she said.

Daly had been thinking about how the project would provide housing for children who grew up in North Fair Oaks.

“When these kids go off to college, when they come back, there’s going to be housing,” Daly said. “So I was fighting back tears, and now, oh my god, it’s up in flames. It was hard.”

Evelyn Stivers, executive director of the nonprofit Housing and Leadership Council of San Mateo County, said the fire was especially heartbreaking as it would have provided housing during the current difficult economic times.

“The profile of residents who needed housing here are wide-ranging,” Stivers said. “Unfortunately, they range from individuals that are fleeing domestic violence to teachers, grocery store clerks, and bank clerks that are living in their cars right now. This fire impacts the type of housing that San Mateo County needs most in an area that really needs it, and would benefit from having more affordable homes.”

While a future opening date for Middlefield Junction is uncertain, Daly is hopeful the county and developers will make sure that it happens.

“This is one of the neighborhoods in the county, and in the Bay Area, that houses the real workers, the clerks, medical assistants, and teachers aides. It’s a community of really hard-working people,” Daly said. “I’m quite sure that the county will do what needs to be done to make sure it gets rebuilt.”