San Mateo County targets a dozen properties for affordable housing

San Mateo County wants to develop a dozen properties with hundreds of affordable homes from South San Francisco to Redwood City to counter the soaring cost of housing.

The Peninsula county is preparing to issue a request for proposals to developers starting with a Walnut Street site in San Carlos, a North County Courthouse property in South San Francisco and a Law Library property in Redwood City, the San Francisco Business Times reported.

Home prices have spiked in the region of 750,000 residents. In Redwood City, a typical home is priced at nearly $1.8 million, while one in four apartments rent for more than $3,000 a month.

Of 12 proposed building sites in San Carlos, North Fair Oaks, South San Francisco, Redwood City and San Mateo, four contain a specified number of future homes, with a combined up to 370 units, according to the county.

The proposed building sites include the half-acre vacant lot at 626-648 Walnut Street in San Carlos, targeted for 80 units of affordable housing, which may qualify for tax-credit financing.

In Redwood City, redeveloping the law library could yield 60 affordable units for county employees, while redeveloping the courthouse in South San Francisco could bring between 120 and 160 units for families and seniors.

Officials are targeting county-owned land because it can be less expensive for homebuilders to develop, according to the Business Times. More sites may be prioritized in coming weeks.

It’s unclear whether cities, which largely control local zoning, and county supervisors will agree on how the sites should be developed, or who will pay for segments of the projects.

Ray Hodges, director of San Mateo County Department of Housing, said what makes this latest effort unique is the number of county-owned sites that could be considered. The county and its cities have state-mandated plans to rezone for 40,000 homes by 2031.

A local housing crunch is tough for lower-income workers who must live elsewhere, according to the Business Times. One county supervisor suggested the region is facing a worker shortage that will grow worse without more affordable housing.

The county has provided land for a 555-unit affordable housing complex by MidPen Housing in Daly City. This week, it approved $9 million for an 88-unit affordable housing development by Alliant Communities on school district property in Menlo Park, with 40 percent of the units for county employees.

— Dana Bartholomew