San Mateo County is undergoing a significant redevelopment, including the replacement of 555 aging apartments. The overall project will be executed in four phases, which will lead to the replacement of these old apartments in the San Francisco metro area. The opening celebrations for Phase I took place last week.
Highlights
- A new affordable housing project is open for residents in San Mateo through its Phase I.
- Phase II of the development, based at a Cow Palace location, will open for locals by 2027.
- Through both phases, developers are driven to bring affordable housing and assist kids through reserved units and child care centers.
San Mateo’s Officials Celebrate Opening of Phase I of Midway Village
San Mateo County officials celebrate the opening of Phase I through a ribbon-cutting ceremony (Source: @midpenhousing.org)
Based at Daly City’s Cow Palace location, phase I of a new affordable housing development has opened for low-income households. The first phase of Midway Village has also been developed for young adults moving out of foster care.
A formal celebration took place last week for the first 147 units, which will replace some of the 555 apartments built on the site during the 70s. Located about 8 miles south of downtown San Francisco, the MidPen-led development is being constructed at 80 Park St.
Through Phase I, San Mateo residents will get one- to three-bedroom apartments. Additionally, the Daly City project includes 190 parking spaces. The project developer, MidPen, is offering studio units for $1,164.90 each month. Residents of Midway Village will be given priority in the project.
The general contractor of the Cow Palace-based project is Devcon Construction. Whereas, David Baker Architects has come onboard for the designing of Midway Village.
To get the San Mateo project started, MidPen had managed to secure a financing package of $162.9 million in March.
Reserved Units for Local Educators and Young Adults
Phase I of the Cow Palace-based redevelopment project is focused on bringing 27 affordable units for local educators. It will also lay emphasis on young adults moving out of foster care and reserve 12 units for them. But both these groups of San Mateo residents must fall within the extremely low- or low-income populations.
Only those San Mateo residents who earn $41,150 or less, per year, will be eligible for the units under extremely low income. Whereas, those making $109,700 each year will be viewed as low-income earners.
MidPen Plans to Open Phase II by 2027
The opening celebration of Phase I at Midway Village was succeeded by the groundbreaking of its second phase. during the ceremony, developers and other officials of San Mateo County stated that Phase II could be completed by 2027.
Phase II of the Cow Palace redevelopment project will offer residents of the San Francisco metro area 113 two- to four-bedroom units. Each of these apartments at Midway Village will have full kitchens, in-unit laundry, and electric stoves.
The San Mateo residents will also have access to a community room, secure bicycle storage, public art, and a learning center with an outdoor play arena. For this, the San Mateo County Board of Supervisors had given its nod for a $14 million loan in 2024.
Emphasis on Child Care Center
Phase II of the San Mateo County-based redevelopment project will offer locals a 15,000 sq. ft. child care center. The organization will be operated by Peninsula Family Service, which will serve up to 109 children. This figure will also include kids from low-income households.
Apart from this, to help the homeless and those struggling with finding an affordable space, 29 units in Phase II will be reserved for people with supportive housing needs.
The Affordability Aspect Could Help MidPen in Battling Zoning Laws
Alongside being one of the most costly areas in the U.S., San Mateo County is also an area that faces utmost regulatory scrutiny from housing authorities. To stay away from the risks of fund loss, developers often opt for affordable housing projects. Doing so helps them avoid local zoning laws owing to the adequate number of affordable housing units.
As MidPen is increasingly focused on the affordable housing aspect through its different phases, the latest San Mateo project could benefit local zoning laws as well.
