DCA, HMFA Break Ground on 50-Unit Affordable Housing Building in Newark

Project to Provide Quality Housing for Homeless and Disabled Individuals

NEWARK, NJ – September 3, 2009 – (RealEstateRama) — New Jersey Department of Community Affairs (DCA) Acting Commissioner Charles A. Richman and New Jersey Housing and Mortgage Finance Agency (HMFA) Executive Director Marge Della Vecchia today joined local officials to break ground on Roseville Commons, a 50-unit affordable housing building located at 533-567 Orange Street in Newark. The DCA and HMFA are providing an estimated combined total of $12 million in support from various resources for the project.

“The Roseville Commons new construction is exemplary of Governor Corzine’s efforts to ensure good, affordable housing for New Jersey residents while also reducing energy usage and costs,” said Acting Commissioner Richman. “The City of Newark should be proud of Roseville Commons and the assistance it will provide the city’s residents.”

Roseville Commons will be an attractive five-story building, which will contain 50 family apartments ranging from one to four bedrooms on the upper floors and community/commercial space on the ground floor level.

• Each apartment will include a high efficiency dishwasher, kitchen appliances and heating and cooling systems.
• To create a green interior living space, the units on the second floor will be designed around an open garden space, which the upper floors will overlook.
• A rooftop garden will occupy the fifth floor.
• Solar panels on the roof will help supply power for the building’s common spaces.

The project will provide 20 units for homeless families and homeless and/or disabled military veterans. Additionally, two units will be reserved for persons who are blind or visually impaired. Case management and social services such as financial literacy programs for adults and after-school and summer programs for youth will be available on-site for building residents.

The HMFA provided a mortgage commitment of approximately $7 million in permanent financing and an estimated $2 million in funding for this project through the Special Needs Housing Trust Fund, which aims to develop independent residential opportunities as alternatives to institutionalization for persons with special needs. The DCA is contributing more than $3 million to the project from its Balanced Housing Program and will assist some of the future tenant households with State Rental Assistance Program (SRAP) vouchers. The project has also received financial support from the Commission for the Blind and Visually Impaired, the City of Newark, and the Federal Home Loan Bank of New York.

“This project will not only be a great addition to the city’s North Ward section, it will give homeless and special needs individuals the opportunity, stability and support needed to live a productive life,” said HMFA Executive Director Marge Della Vecchia. “We couldn’t be prouder to be a part of this project because it truly represents our mission of increasing the availability of and accessibility to safe, decent and affordable housing for New Jersey’s families.”

RPM Development LLC, the project developer, has developed approximately 2,000 affordable housing units in New Jersey. The company has received wide recognition for its efforts to assist in the revitalization of inner cities by renovating old, vacant and historic properties and developing abandoned vacant parcels in many of New Jersey’s urban areas.

For more information on HMFA programs and mortgages, please call 1-800-NJHOUSE or 609-278-7400, or log on to www.nj-hmfa.com.