It’s affordable

Although progress on Building B understandably lags Building A, I was delighted to learn that potential residents can now submit applications for the 75 apartments in Building A, for occupancy this summer. As for the 104 apartments that will be located in Building B, those should be available sometime in 2026.

Given the incredibly high cost of housing in our area, affordable housing projects like this one are badly needed. Although 179 affordable apartments with one to three bedrooms will certainly be welcomed, our area still has a long way to go. Fortunately, Middlefield Junction isn’t the only affordable housing project likely to open its doors in the next year or two. For one, the large Broadway Plaza project — that's well underway along Broadway between Chestnut Street and Woodside Road in Redwood City — will include three large apartment buildings, one of which will be fully affordable (the other two will be leased at market rates). All three buildings are due to be completed in 2026. At that time, another 119 affordable apartments — along with one manager’s unit in the affordable building and 400 apartments in the two market-rate buildings) —will be added to our area’s housing pool. Then there is the seven-story apartment building planned for 112 Vera Ave. That building is slated to contain 176 affordable apartments and two manager’s units. Although that project has yet to be approved, the developer is optimistic that they’ll be able to begin construction in May and wrap up in 2027. It has been submitted under SB 35/SB 423, meaning that, as long as it meets city standards and all applicable objective design standards, the Redwood City zoning administrator must approve the project through a ministerial process.

Redwood City has approved a handful of other residential projects that are either entirely or partially affordable. Thus, the 475 affordable apartments in the three projects I’ve just identified are, hopefully, just the start for the Redwood City and North Fair Oaks areas. However many we end up with, we also need to consider their degree of affordability.

Affordable housing is intended to be priced so that no more than 30% of the household’s monthly income goes to housing-related expenses (rent or mortgage plus essential utilities). To do this, our various governing bodies have defined a set of affordability levels, each computed as a percentage of the area’s median income, against which a given household’s total monthly income is compared. Each affordable housing unit is then designated for households of a particular level, and rents are set at 30% of the affordability level’s AMI percentage, adjusted for household size and subtracting estimated costs for essential utilities that the household would need to pay.

Redwood City recognizes six distinct affordability levels: Extremely Low (30%), Very Low (50%), HOME (60%), Low (80%), Median (100%) and Moderate (120%). So, a single-person household earning at or below 30% of the AMI (the average median income in San Mateo County) would fall into the Extremely Low income category and would, in 2024, have paid no more than $980 per month for an affordable studio apartment. Both Redwood City and San Mateo County annually publish charts listing the maximum household income for each affordability level and maximum rent to be paid at each level based on household size.

At Middlefield Junction, 44 of the 179 apartments are reserved for households qualifying for one of two special programs, while the remainder will be for those at levels between 15% and 80% of the AMI. As for Broadway Plaza and 112 Vera Ave., their units are for those at the Extremely Low, Very Low and Low income levels.

How effective the 475 affordable apartments in these three developments will be in easing our area’s housing crisis depends a lot on how well their affordability mix mirrors our area’s needs. But undoubtedly all of these apartments will be snapped up as soon as they hit the market.

Greg Wilson is the creator of Walking Redwood City, a blog inspired by his walks throughout Redwood City and adjacent communities. He can be reached at greg@walkingRedwoodCity.com. Follow Greg on Twitter @walkingRWC.