NJHMFA tops out transit-oriented development in Essex County

The New Jersey Housing and Mortgage Finance Agency (NJHMFA) staff, local officials and representatives of The Alpert Group celebrated a topping-out ceremony on April 26 marking the near completion of a new transit-oriented development that will provide 100 mixed-income rental apartments.

Valley Road Residential features a five-story building with 45 market-rate apartments and 55 that are affordable for households earning up to 60 percent of the area median income. Seven apartments will provide homes for residents earning 30 percent AMI or less.

The development is located at 22 Central Ave. in a mixed-use neighborhood and arts district undergoing significant revitalization, NJHMFA said. It is also located in a Smart Growth Area and adjacent to the Highland Avenue train station.

Valley Road Residential was developed on a former industrial site and brownfield adjacent to the Harvard Printing apartments in Orange, a 2018 New Jersey Future Smart Growth award-winning project developed by the same team with NJHMFA financing assistance.

NJHMFA awarded the development 9 percent Low Income Housing Tax Credits, which are expected to generate $12.5 million in private equity. The $29.7 million development also received funding from West Orange’s Affordable Housing Trust Fund.

“The Valley Road apartments are an exciting addition to the West Orange neighborhood and will provide families and young people entering the workforce a high-quality place to live that’s close to public transportation,” said Lt. Gov. Sheila Oliver, who also serves as commissioner of the Department of Community Affairs and chair of the NJHMFA board.

“Gov. Murphy and I, along with our partners at NJHMFA and the Alpert Group, are pleased to continue to build affordable living opportunities in New Jersey for working families and young people with projects like this,” Oliver added.

The developers include The Alpert Group, based in Fort Lee, Ironstate Development, and HANDS (Housing and Neighborhood Development Services, Inc.), which has worked since 1986 to implement a neighborhood revitalization effort in the City of Orange and its urban neighbors.