County Rewards Affordable Housing Projects

REDWOOD CITY, CA-San Mateo County supervisors have awarded a total of nearly $2.5 million in federal funding to eight affordable housing projects, including a special project for mentally ill adults in Belmont.

The board voted on the distribution at its meeting in Redwood City this morning. The annual HOME Investment Partnership Act funds went to projects in San Mateo, Daly City, South San Francisco, Belmont and East Palo Alto. The largest grants of $500,000 each went to a rental housing project in Daly City and a project providing 24 units for mentally ill adults in Belmont.

County Office of Housing Director Steve Cervantes says two other projects were rejected as “premature” by a seven-member committee that made funding recommendations to the board, on the grounds that they did not yet have development agreements in place. However, $350,000 was set aside as a reserve to allow other projects to get funding later in the year.

Another $225,000 was divided between Daly City, South San Francisco and the county for project management costs.

Cervantes says Daly City would be applying for the federal affordable housing funding next year separately from the county, reducing the overall amount to be awarded by the county.