Half Moon Bay farm workers to receive $1M housing grant

HALF MOON BAY, Calif. - The Chan Zuckerberg Initiative announced Tuesday that it has awarded a $1 million grant to build affordable housing in Half Moon Bay for farm laborers and their families.

The housing will be built at 880 Stone Pine Road, which is a city-owned site just south of state Highway 92.

Half Moon Bay and San Mateo County officials will be working to create a design that includes detached prefabricated homes, which are cost-effective ways of constructing buildings.

"There are few communities more deeply impacted by the rising cost of housing than farmworkers," said Priscilla Chan, co-founder and co-CEO of the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, adding that she hoped the grant will be a catalyst for further investments in the area.

The homes will be offered at below-market rate, according to a press release from the county, and will go to low-income families and those displaced by a mass shooting in Half Moon Bay earlier this year that claimed seven lives.

"We are grateful for the support from the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative that will aid the county in providing this vital affordable farmworker housing," said Supervisor Ray Mueller, who represents District 3, which includes Half Moon Bay.

Earlier this year, the state announced that San Mateo County had received a $5 million Joe Serna, Jr. Farmworker Housing Grant, which would also go towards building affordable housing.

"Access to affordable housing is crucial for social inclusion and to alleviate poverty," said Iliana Rodriguez, an assistant county executive who works on issues of homelessness and local housing efforts. "It ensures that people from diverse backgrounds, including low-income farmworkers, have a place in the community."

The county boasts a $100 million per year agricultural industry that relies on a mix of migrant and permanent resident laborers.