$4M Headed To Support SMC Farmworker Homes, Coyote Point Playground

REDWOOD CITY, CA — San Mateo County will receive a $4 million boost in federal funding to support efforts to build affordable housing for Peninsula farmworkers and replace the playground at Coyote Point Recreation Area.

The bulk of the money will support the Half Moopn Bay Farmworker Homeownership Project, adding $3 million to the previously secured $7.2 million funded by the state and philanthropists. San Mateo County coffers will cover the remaining $16.2 million needed to install 20 modular homes at 800 Stone Pine Cove, and officials hope the homes will be ready for buyers by next spring.

The county will use the other $1 million in federal funds to overhaul the aging Magic Mountain playground at Coyote Point in San Mateo. Officials said that money will allow the county to build a new and unique design that will be more inclusive for children of all ages and abilities.

County leaders on Tuesday credited Rep. Anna Eshoo, Rep. Kevin Mullin, Sen. Alex Padilla, and the late Sen. Dianne Feinstein for securing federal funding for both projects.

"I cannot thank Congresswoman Eshoo and Congressman Mullin enough for securing this much needed funding for San Mateo County," said District 3 Supervisor Ray Mueller. "They appreciate the dire need not only for farmworker housing but housing ownership on the coast, and their help getting money behind it moves our efforts that much closer to reality."