OFFICIALS AND COMMUNITY LEADERS in East Palo Alto recently celebrated the grand opening of Colibri Commons, adding more than 100 affordable apartments to the city’s stock.
The 136-apartment complex is built on 2.61 acres of city-owned land and has a range of options, from studio to four-bedroom apartments, made affordable to families and individuals who earn up to 60% the area median income. Residents have access to a community room, an outdoor play area and an after-school learning center.
Development was spearheaded by local nonprofits EPACANDO and MidPen Housing, which broke ground on the project in February 2024.
While the May 20 ribbon-cutting event celebrated the project’s official opening, MidPen spokesperson Lyn Hikida said residents began moving in September 2025 and it’s now completely leased out. According to the city’s website, applications were open in early 2025. Chris Hunter, chief of staff for San Mateo County District 4 Supervisor Lisa Gauthier, said about 4,000 people applied for the apartment’s units.
The complex cost nearly $99 million to build, with funding pooled from 11 sources including $22.9 million from San Mateo County, $16.5 million of which came from the county’s Measure K sales tax.
“With these investments, the county is also doubling down on its commitment to provide housing to families that don’t earn the income necessary to afford market rents everywhere, including in East Palo Alto,” Hunter said. “Colibri Commons is an effort to help people who’ve been shut out of the system to benefit with a wonderful place to live.”
For East Palo Alto Vice Mayor Ruben Abrica, affordable housing has been at the heart of civic engagement since the city’s incorporation in 1983. He said economic crises throughout the area inspired the movement to incorporate, and the Bay Area’s increasing cost of living has made it all the more important for the city and other local governments to support projects like Colibri Commons.
East Palo Alto faces housing mandate
East Palo Alto needs to build 829 new homes by 2031 to meet state-mandated housing goals, known as the Regional Housing Needs Allocation. Of those new homes, 419 must be below the area’s median income — in San Mateo County, that’s $186,600 for a family of four.
While speaking to the crowd, Abrica encouraged residents to get involved in local politics and continue pushing for housing access. He said this year’s City Council elections will be the most consequential since incorporation, especially to ensure the city continues making decisions that serve residents.
“Our city was born with one of the motivations to protect people from displacement, to build affordable housing at all levels but particularly at the levels where people are the most vulnerable economically.”
Vice Mayor Ruben Abrica
“Our city was born with one of the motivations to protect people from displacement, to build affordable housing at all levels but particularly at the levels where people are the most vulnerable economically,” Abrica said. “The reason I was sending a warning is I feel now, politically, there are some political forces in the city who don’t support this.”
Abrica said Colibri Commons’ opening shows the city has been making progress toward ensuring those with roots in East Palo Alto are not priced out of the area.
Fatai Heimuli is one such resident. The 27-year-old nonprofit worker grew up in East Palo Alto and stayed with her parents for more than two years while searching for an affordable place to live independently.
Now, she said the past nine months at Colibri Commons has been “wonderful,” as she stays engaged with the local Tongan community and church she grew up attending.
“My life has completely changed,” Heimuli said. “I had already sold myself on the fact that I might have to move far away, because that’s all I could afford, so the fact I can stay 5 minutes away from my parents, where I grew up, is such a heartwarming experience.”