Photos: Affordable Housing Complex Opens on Cedar Street

As part of San Mateo County’s Affordable Housing Week, Redwood City and county officials unveiled the newest affordable housing in the community: the Cedar Street Apartments.

The brand new 14-unit building almost sparkled with its new coat of paint and blindingly white banisters. Community members and the new residents of 104 Cedar Street attended the ribbon cutting ceremony.

Future resident Brigitte Ohms gave a nearly tearful thanks to the many people who helped find “not a new house, but a home.”

“I was released from prison and I was homeless,” Ohms said. “But this is the end of my struggle and now I can live life.”

Resident Veronica Stephens also saw this as a new beginning without an end in sight, “Now I get to retire from my struggle.”

The 14 studio units have already been offered to 14 adults with mental illnesses. On-site supportive services will focus on educational and vocational opportunities and activities.

Vice Mayor Jeff Gee welcomed the newest residents to their home, and used the Cedar apartments of an illustration of what collaborative efforts between different agencies and bodies could produce.

Creating more affordable housing has been a priority of the city, as it provides in the entire San Mateo County.

Duane Bay, the director of the county’s Department of Housing used the unveiling to highlight the need to continue supporting these types of projects. He said persistence in applying for federal grants from the Housing and Urban Development (HUD) department was crucial.

“We all pay taxes in different ways,” Bay said. “But this is the best thing that the public can put its money to.”

Correction: The original article listing Redwood City as having 25 percent of the county's affordable housing units.

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