More affordable housing is coming to Redwood City and North Fair Oaks, thanks to a unanimous vote by the San Mateo County Board of Supervisors.
At Tuesday’s meeting District 4 Supervisor Warren Slocum joined his fellow representatives in voting to approve the allocation of more than $54.2 million to be distributed among 10 affordable housing projects, including one in Redwood City and North Fair Oaks. This marks the ninth year that the county has approved an Affordable Housing Fund (AHF).
“It’s fantastic,” said Slocum. “We all know that housing prices here are off the charts. This $54 million is going to give families hope.”
Of these funds, $30 million come from Measure K, a countywide sales taxes ballot passed by local voters during the 2016 election. According to Slocum, the measure has generated $80 million per year since its passing, over $50 million of which has already been invested into affordable housing. Tuesday’s vote represents years of work—and the next phase in an ongoing process to provide residents with homes they can afford.
“The complicating part of all this affordable housing construction is the financing,” said Slocum, who’s been working on this particular project for the last eight years.
The 10 newly funded developments will add an estimated 759 new affordable housing units to the county, including 117 in Redwood City and North Fair Oaks.
According to Raymond Hodges, executive director of the county’s Housing & Community Development, Habitat for Humanity should receive $1 million to manage the Redwood City development, which will provide 33 units specifically for homeownership at 1111-1127 Arguello. In North Fair Oaks, Affirmed Housing is expecting $7.46 million to oversee the construction of 84 low-income rental units, nearly half of which are designated extremely low income, on a half-acre lot at the intersection of Douglas and San Mateo avenues. The NFO development will also receive some Housing for a Healthy California (HCC) funds, which support those with special health care needs.
“This was our biggest year,” said Hodges, noting the amount of funds and developments approved annually by the county have increased exponentially since the first AHF round in 2013.
“This is definitely the thing that we do every year that involves the most dollars,” he added. “But it's also the one where we get by far the biggest impact.”
Though the newly funded projects will take several years to build, two other local developments have recently opened. Arroyo Green in Downtown Redwood City and Fair Oaks Commons in North Fair Oaks both received money from the county’s Affordable Housing Fund and are now home to 182 seniors, veterans, and formerly homeless individuals.
With the latest round of financing approved, Slocum said it’s now up to developers to “pool the money and get the shovels in the ground.” Meanwhile, the county will continue to support more efforts to provide affordable housing and work towards their goal of functional zero homelessness.
“We haven’t finished developing affordable housing,” Slocum said. “This is just another step in that journey. For those who are homeless, kids who are couch surfing because their parents lost their job, people who can’t afford rent—these housing developments are a lifeline.”
