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Though initially reported by Menlo Park fire officials as a “total loss,” one of the two affordable housing buildings located at 2700 Middlefield Road in North Fair Oaks went up in flames. The fire spared Building A, which is set to include 75 units of affordable housing and a child care center. Building B burned in Monday’s fire and would have included 104 units of affordable housing.
Following the fire at the affordable housing complex, which had been under construction since 2023, officials have been praising the quick action of the first responders on the scene who saved the second building and prevented the fire from spreading to nearby neighborhoods.
The $155 million Middlefield Junction affordable housing complex was slated to provide 179 units of affordable housing to the area. The new apartment buildings were being built on a vacant, county-owned lot where a recycling facility once stood.
Plans for the project, located behind San Mateo County’s Fair Oaks Health Center, have been in the works since August 2015. Each apartment, ranging in size from one to three bedrooms, was reserved for people making between 15% and 80% of the area median income. Twenty units were to be reserved for people experiencing homelessness.
“All Bay Area families understand the need for more high-quality affordable housing and childcare services, and we are devastated that we will now be delayed in completing this 179-home family community with an expansive ground-floor childcare center operated by our partners at Peninsula Family Service,” said developer Mercy Housing California in a statement.
The project was funded through a partnership between Mercy Housing California, San Mateo County, the state and private investors. The California Housing Accelerator Fund, which gave $78 million to the project, also contributed to its financing. This was the first development in the county to be financed by the fund.
The project received a $25.5 million grant from the California Strategic Growth Council. Additional funding was sourced through $30.5 million in loans from the County and Housing Authority of San Mateo County, $13 million from the American Rescue Plan Act and $6.78 million from the Measure K half-cent sales tax.
Construction started on the project in June 2023 and would have been completed in March 2025. Once fully constructed, the site would have comprised two large affordable housing buildings, one with 75 units and a child care center and the other with 104 units.
“We are heartened that Building A, which will include 75 units as well as the child care center, was not impacted by the fire in Building B,” said Mercy Housing California.
Fire investigators are actively analyzing the scene, according to the statement from Mercy Housing. There was no information available about what caused the fire, as of Wednesday morning.
Approximately 130 construction workers were on site when the fire broke out at approximately 10:15 a.m. on June 3. There were no injuries to construction workers or fire personnel.
Roberts-Obayashi Corp., the construction company working on the Middlefield Junction site at the time of the fire, said in a statement that this fire was the “worst disaster” in the company’s 92-year history.
“We are devastated that Building B … was destroyed by fire down to the podium slab. The fire started on the fifth floor and workers attempted to put the fire out with nearby fire extinguishers, but it grew too quickly and within 3 hours the entire building was gone.”
The statement also confirmed that no “hot work” (cutting, welding, soldering or brazing) was being performed at the site when the fire broke out.
“As soon as it is safe for our teams, and following a thorough investigation, we will return to work at the Middlefield Junction site to assess the damage and make a plan to move forward with construction,” said Mercy Housing. “We hope residents and partners will trust in our resolve to deliver the affordable homes and child care spaces that San Mateo County communities deserve and need.”
As of June 4, firefighters were still dousing hot spots with water from a ladder truck. These remaining hot spots were identified by thermal imaging via an overhead drone.
“We are still on site doing some site control, putting out hot spots,” said Jon Johnston, a fire marshal with the Menlo Park Fire Protection District on June 5. Johnston also said that there was an abatement company on site to knock down some of the scaffolding that was still standing following the fire in order to reduce risks to personnel on site.
He also said that the abatement company removed several cars that were in the parking garage below the structure; the cars hadn’t been damaged by the fire. “A lot of water though,” he said.
Warren Slocum, the president of the San Mateo County Board of Supervisors and the representative of District 4, said that once the investigation is complete, the county, state and developer will know more about how to recoup their finances.
“Talks are going on between lawyers and insurance companies and Mercy Housing … to figure out how much money the insurance is going to cover in the loss,” said Slocum in an interview with this news organization. “The intent is to rebuild. … The money would come from that insurance money that I mentioned. I know that Mercy Housing is committed to rebuilding and so are we.”
Despite the staggering loss, Mercy Housing says that it remains “fully committed” to completing the development that was a result of nearly a decade of community involvement.
“We hope residents and partners will trust in our resolve to deliver the affordable homes and childcare spaces that San Mateo County communities deserve and need,” said Mercy Housing.
Local leaders respond
County and state officials also reacted to the loss of affordable housing in the county and praised the quick actions of first responders.
“The destruction of these affordable homes is an enormous loss that we must now work collectively to recover from,” said Assembly member Diane Papan. “I am extraordinarily grateful to our first responders who so gallantly protected the surrounding community preventing a potentially greater tragedy.”
State Sen. Josh Becker, D-Menlo Park, praised first responders, and reiterated the need for affordable housing in this part of San Mateo County:
“I am incredibly grateful to all the firefighters, law enforcement, and other first responders for their quick and effective response and for evacuating people out of potential danger and ensuring that there were no injuries. My office is in direct communication with Redwood City and San Mateo County. This situation is still evolving, and investigations are still in their early stages. I will be visiting the site as soon as it is appropriate to do so to inspect the damage. This is a setback for our efforts to provide more high-quality affordable housing in the community. I am hopeful that this project will be completed so that San Mateo County can meet our housing goals and continue to lead the state in addressing homelessness.”
San Mateo County Sheriff Christina Corpus lamented the “tremendous loss” of affordable housing and praised the actions of the first responders in preventing injuries and the spread of the fire. “This loss could have been so much worse had it not been for the heroic actions of all of our Sheriff’s Office personnel who quickly evacuated nearby residents as well as the firefighters who amazingly prevented the fire from spreading to nearby homes and buildings.”
The site for this project was selected due to its proximity to transit, to businesses in Redwood City and on Middlefield Road and to the nearby North Fair Oaks Health Center, according to Slocum.
“It was a unique development in that not only did it have one and two bedroom units, it had three bedroom units, which we wanted to make sure we could take care of families with kids. Hence the larger units,” said Slocum. “That would have been the largest affordable housing (development) in that community.”
Slocum also wanted to remind San Mateo County residents to be prepared for emergencies of all kinds.
“This kind of just brings home the fact that it can happen anywhere, anytime and as shocking as it was for me, and devastating. The community needs to look to that example and just be prepared for emergencies for their families.”
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