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One year after an eight-alarm fire gutted part of an affordable housing development in North Fair Oaks, crews have rebuilt all six stories of what was to become 104 apartments that burned to the concrete foundation. Residents are expected to move into units at the Middlefield Junction development at 2700 Middlefield Road as soon as this summer, according to a San Mateo County press release.
Despite the scale of destruction, the fire is only expected to delay the opening of Building B in the development by about six months, far less time than many might have anticipated, according to the county. Developer Mercy Housing is reviewing tenant applications for Building B, and move-ins could happen as soon as February 2026 on that part of the property, according to the county. Mercy Housing received more than 2,000 applications and is no longer accepting new applications.
“Someone told me the other day that the fire was a year ago. I’ve been in the trenches of it all and I didn’t realize how fast time has gone by,” said Elaine Palacios, a Redwood City native who is a project manager for Mercy Housing, during a recent tour of the facility. “I’m very proud of our team. They’ve done a great job.”
The fire started on the morning of June 3, 2024, at the 179-unit affordable housing development. It led to a response from 36 fire engines, six ladder trucks and dozens of firefighters and support crews, according to the county.
Building A, a five-story building which includes 75 housing units and a childcare center for three dozen infants and toddlers, was spared in the fire. Construction resumed on Building A a few weeks after the fire. Mercy Housing expects its first residents to begin moving into Building A in August 2025, according to the county.
The Menlo Park Fire Protection District found that the fire started on the fifth floor of Building B, but could not determine the cause of the fire, according to its investigation released in January 2025. Investigators noted the fire ignited at a time when large buildings are at a particularly vulnerable stage of construction — before sprinklers were installed while “combustible wood framing was exposed” throughout.
San Mateo County Supervisor Lisa Gauthier, whose District 4 includes North Fair Oaks, said in a prepared statement that “in the middle of a housing crisis, this development is more than just new buildings; it’s hope. I look forward to the day families move in, because when people are housed, our entire community thrives.”
The county, which owns the land on which the development sits, provided a long-term, below-market ground lease to Mercy Housing.
Middlefield Junction includes one- to three-bedroom apartments and serves income-qualified residents, including individuals and families who have experienced homelessness. There will be furnished kitchens with refrigerators and dishwashers.
For more information on the development, go to mercyhousing.org.
