Affordable housing developers vow to rebuild after massive fire near Redwood City
Despite a devastating fire that ripped through a housing complex under construction near Redwood City on Monday, developers are set on completing the project, they said Tuesday.
The 8-alarm fire in North Fair Oaks burned in the 2700 block of Middlefield Road and destroyed building B of the planned affordable housing structure which was part of the Middlefield Junction strategic plan for the area.
"This has been devastating to us and much more traumatic than was expected," said Scott Smith, director of the James E. Roberts-Obayashi Corporation, which is the site's developer. Smith said his company has never experienced this level of disaster in its 92-year history.
Within three hours, 104 of the total 179 units were "destroyed by fire down to the podium slab," Smith said. Construction workers trying to extinguish it at first could not keep up with the growing flames. Miraculously, the 130 workers on site and surrounding structures were left unharmed, Smith said.
San Mateo County Sheriff Christina Corpus took to social media Tuesday to express her appreciation for first responders.
"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," she said on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter.
The Middlefield Junction project was being built in partnership with Mercy Housing, a national nonprofit that establishes low-income, affordable housing developments across the country.
San Mateo County Board of Supervisors President Warren Slocum advocated for the project 10 years ago in the unincorporated community of North Fair Oaks as their district's representative. Slocum said he is deeply saddened by the fire as it means that families in need will have to wait longer to move in.
"Me and the developer are 100% committed to rebuilding for those families that will eventually occupy that affordable housing unit," Slocum said.
Roberts-Obayashi Corp. fully intends to continue construction after a complete investigation on the fire's cause, Smith said.
"Be prepared for emergencies like a fire. Be prepared," Slocum said.