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Gateway Rising has opened its doors as a high-end apartment complex for young professionals, but at affordable prices, on Hacker Way (home of Meta) in Menlo Park, and just a few blocks away from the Googleplex, the the technology giant Google.
The one-block development along Willow Road east of Highway 101 features 140 units along with a fitness center, bike parking, a common room with a kitchen, picnic tables and more. The buildings are connected with ventilated hallways enclosed with floor-to-ceiling glass; The exteriors lean towards clean lines and warm colors.
Officials, along with Gateway residents, gathered last Friday to cut a red ribbon on San Mateo County's newest affordable development.
“These homes are a testament to sustained efforts to prevent displacement in one of the most expensive regions in the country,” said San Mateo County Executive Assistant Iliana Rodríguez.
In that sense, the official said that “Gateway Rising also represents the county's vision that, here in San Mateo County and Silicon Valley, surrounded by employment centers and services, affordable housing will continue to be available for residents with a wide range from income".
Gateway Rising replaces a 1960s apartment complex built at a time when redlining and discriminatory housing policies directed Black and Latino individuals and families to live east of Highway 101.
To protect the area and local residents from gentrification, public agencies partnered with nonprofit housing developer MidPen Housing. Together, they developed a plan to replace the garden-style apartments with a masterpiece of a development that, they noted, would remain affordable.
“The comprehensive revitalization of Gateway is a true win for the community, allowing us to rebuild some of the most outdated housing while adding new homes,” said Matthew O. Franklin, president and CEO of MidPen Housing.
Of Gateway Rising's 140 apartments, 81 are occupied by returning residents, seven are reserved for homeless families and the remaining 51 are for households earning up to 80 percent of the area median income.
The County's contributions include a $5.1 million loan from the County's Affordable Housing Fund, funded largely by Measure K's half-cent local sales tax, which provides local funding for local needs.
The assistance also includes a $250,000 loan from the Housing Authority's reserve funds and 81 project-based housing vouchers, which allow tenants to pay rent based on their income.
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