NEWS: A Year After Massive Fire, Affordable Housing Project Rises in North Fair Oaks: ‘It’s hope’
San Mateo County, California sent this bulletin at 06/30/2025 09:13 AM PDT
June 30, 2025
For Immediate Release
A Year After Massive Fire, Affordable Housing Project Rises in North Fair Oaks: ‘It’s hope’
North Fair Oaks – A year ago Elaine Palacios, a project manager with the nonprofit housing developer Mercy Housing, received the worst news of her career.
“There’s a fire on site,” she was told. “It’s bad.”
A whirlwind of fire was consuming all six floors of Building B, the larger of two apartment buildings under construction as part of Middlefield Junction, a 179-unit affordable housing development in North Fair Oaks and one of the largest projects of its type in San Mateo County.
One year later, it's hard to recognize the site was filled with smoldering debris. Crews have rebuilt all six stories of Building B, and Mercy Housing is now reviewing applications. Move-ins could begin in Building B as early as February 2026, a key step in addressing the region’s acute shortage of affordable housing.
