A day after a fire ripped through an affordable housing building under construction near Redwood City, local leaders are vowing to rebuild.
“It’s just a devastating loss in terms of affordable units,” said San Mateo County Board of Supervisors President Warren Slocum, who represents the district where the Middlefield Junction complex is located. “We’re all committed to rebuilding. We’re not just going to walk away from it.”
San Mateo County needs to build more than 1,200 housing units for low- and very-low-income families by 2031 to meet the expected demand, and the damaged complex was among the largest in the county’s development pipeline.
The 179-unit project would house 177 low-income families, with two apartments reserved for managers. One building with 104 units was burned down to its concrete foundation, while a neighboring 75-unit building that includes a planned child care center was not damaged.
The cause of the fire is still under investigation, which could take weeks to complete, fire officials said. Slocum said conversations about rebuilding are already underway with the developer, Mercy Housing California, though the timeline is unclear.