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.
Demolition crews dismantle the charred remains of the North Fair Oaks affordable housing project at 2700 Middlefield Road, in Redwood City, Calif., Tuesday, June 18, 2024. The building was destroyed June 3 in an eight-alarm fire. (Karl Mondon/Bay Area News Group)
Demolition crews dismantle the charred remains of the North Fair Oaks affordable housing project at 2700 Middlefield Road, in Redwood City, Calif., Tuesday, June 18, 2024. The building was destroyed June 3 in an eight-alarm fire. (Karl Mondon/Bay Area News Group)
An eight-alarm fire burns at a construction site at an affordable housing building on Monday, June 3, 2024, in North Fair Oaks, near Redwood City, Calif. (Dai Sugano/Bay Area News Group)
An eight-alarm fire burns at a construction site at an affordable housing building on Monday, June 3, 2024, in North Fair Oaks, near Redwood City, Calif. (Dai Sugano/Bay Area News Group)
Onlookers watch as an eight-alarm fire burns at a construction site at an affordable housing building on Monday, June 3, 2024, in North Fair Oaks, near Redwood City, Calif. (Dai Sugano/Bay Area News Group)
An eight-alarm fire burns at a construction site at an affordable housing building on Monday, June 3, 2024, in North Fair Oaks, near Redwood City, Calif. (Dai Sugano/Bay Area News Group)
Onlookers watch as an eight-alarm fire burns at a construction site at an affordable housing building on Monday, June 3, 2024, in North Fair Oaks, near Redwood City, Calif. (Dai Sugano/Bay Area News Group)
An eight-alarm fire burns at a construction site at an affordable housing building on Monday, June 3, 2024, in North Fair Oaks, near Redwood City, Calif. (Dai Sugano/Bay Area News Group)
Firefighters battle an eight-alarm fire at a construction site at an affordable housing building on Monday, June 3, 2024, in North Fair Oaks,
Source:: The Mercury News – Entertainment
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