They’re affordable

Middlefield Junction’s apartments range in size from one to three bedrooms. All are for households earning between 15% and 80% of the county’s median income. To qualify, for example, a family of four cannot earn more than $156,650 over the year. As for how much a household would pay, that varies depending upon their qualifying income level and apartment size, but should be no more than roughly 30% of the household’s total income.

Across Middlefield Road and back one block, along San Mateo Avenue between MacArthur and Douglas avenues, is “Monarch at Redwood,” the other project I set out this week to see. In October, when I last visited the site, there was just an empty lot. Now, the concrete structure that makes up the ground floor is in place, and the building’s second floor is rapidly being assembled. When complete, it will be a six-story building containing 47 studios, 29 one-bedroom units, and five each with two and three bedrooms. Many of this building’s studio and one-bedroom apartments will be for those earning at or below 30% of the county’s median income, while the remainder will be for those earning 60% or less.

San Mateo County is supporting the $70 million Monarch at Redwood project to the tune of $13.5 million; the remaining funds are coming from other sources. As for Middlefield Junction, the county and Housing Authority of San Mateo County have loaned $30.5 million to that development, with early estimates of a $155 million cost. Those projects are far from alone: Our county supervisors have supported a great many other affordable housing developments over the past several years. And that support continues. Late last year, the Board of Supervisors awarded some $41 million to nine additional projects that, together, would supply an additional 636 affordable housing units.

Of those nine projects, I’m particularly interested in four simply because they are within walking distance for me. The first is yet another project in North Fair Oaks, this one at 3051 Edison Way. It is slated to have 70 units of affordable housing, with four allocated for those currently homeless, 20 for large families, and 31 for those with physical or mental disabilities. For that project, the county is (so far) supplying $1 million in predevelopment funds.

In Menlo Park’s Belle Haven neighborhood, Habitat for Humanity has applied for permission to construct eight below-market-rate townhouses, with the intent to provide for-sale housing for large families.

The county is giving $1 million toward the effort. And in Belmont, the county has allocated funds for two projects, both of which would be located close to each other and to the intersection of Ralston Avenue and Old County Road. The first, called “Ridge on Masonic,” received $1 million in seed funds. It would consist of an eight-story building containing 63 units of affordable housing. Four of those units would be designated for households experiencing homelessness, while another 41 would be for large families. The second new Belmont project, “Ridge at Ralston,” would also be an eight-story building, with 65 affordable units. There, 17 of the units would be for homeless households, while 35 would be for large families. That project being farther along, the county has supplied $11 million. That gift should enable the developer to obtain the remaining funds it needs to get underway — hopefully, later this year.

In a perfect world, housing developers would create housing that is affordable at varying levels without needing help from outside entities like the county. But we of course don’t live in such a world, so help in the form of funds — and, on occasion, donated land — is necessary to build quality housing affordable by households not earning a stereotypical Silicon Valley wage. I for one am thankful for the county’s support of projects like these, and look forward to future walks where I can watch the construction of this badly needed new affordable housing.