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Menlo Park is committing nearly $4 million to help acquire a site for a new affordable-housing complex in the Belle Haven neighborhood.
During its regular meeting Tuesday night, April 16, the City Council approved appropriating $3.6 million from Menlo Park’s below-market-rate (BMR) housing fund to secure the property at 335 Pierce Road for the development of for-sale residential units.
The affordable-housing builder Habitat for Humanity Greater San Francisco would pursue the project consisting of eight to 10 units with two or three bedrooms each, according to city staff during a presentation to the council. Construction could start in the fall of 2025 and finish in two years.
The project proposal is “great to see,” Council member Maria Doerr said during the meeting, “and it very much aligns with our goals of ensuring there is low-income housing throughout our city.”
Vice Mayor Drew Combs agreed, adding that what’s often missing in the affordable-housing spectrum are developments that put low-income families on the path to home ownership.
“Here we have it,” he said of the Habitat project, “and so I’m even doubly supportive of us continuing on this track.”
The city BMR funds would not only go toward acquiring the 0.36-acre parcel but also help cover some pre-development costs, staff said.
In addition, staff said, Santa Clara County would chip in $1.5 million from its Stanford Affordable Housing Fund, which was established in 2000 to support such projects within a six-mile radius of the university — including areas in southern San Mateo County.
Originally, MidPen Housing — another developer of affordable dwellings — was eyeing a project at 335 Pierce, staff said. MidPen bought the site in 2015 but has decided not to move forward with development there. In 2021, the city began talking to MidPen about redeveloping the site.
MidPen instead has been negotiating for Habitat to take over, staff said. Also, MidPen is working on a relocation plan for the one tenant currently at the existing fourplex there, which is targeted for demolition to make way for new construction.
The total cost of the project to be developed by Habitat is estimated at $9.7 million, according to staff. Habitat plans to apply for future funding sources and typically fills in remaining cost gaps through philanthropic financing.
The council voted 4-0 to move ahead with the $3.6 million appropriation and directed staff to work on a funding agreement with Habitat. That agreement is expected to be ready this summer for the council to consider approving.
Mayor Cecilia Taylor recused herself from the council discussion and vote regarding the Habitat project. Taylor noted that she works for a community organization called Belle Haven Action that could team up with Habitat on the project. She founded Belle Haven Action in 2017 and serves as its executive director and CEO.
The council’s decision on the Habitat project came as the mayor declared May “Affordable Housing Month” in Menlo Park.
A city proclamation to that effect pointed out that in the past year Menlo Park had already committed or spent more than $5 million in various affordable-housing endeavors such as development for veterans and ownership opportunities for low-income families.
According to the proclamation, more than 30% of the city’s households earn less than 80% of the San Mateo County median income.
San Mateo County is the only county in California where households have to make more $500,000 a year to afford a median-priced house, the proclamation also said.
As part of the designated month, the city will host an informational fair in Belle Haven’s Ivy Plaza regarding housing resources and services on May 11.
I like seeing these smaller projects happen. There’s another, slightly larger empty field along Pierce Road that’s always been unused, and occupied by weeds and sometimes, a little trash; I don’t know who the owner is. I would really like to see something there.