After announcing in March its purchase of Bridgeton Villas, a 156-unit affordable housing community in Bridgeton, developer WinnCompanies recently broke ground on an $18.7 million rehabilitation initiative.
After announcing in March its purchase of Bridgeton Villas, a 156-unit affordable housing community in Bridgeton, developer WinnCompanies recently broke ground on an $18.7 million rehabilitation initiative.
The developer said it hopes to modernize the community, improve energy efficiency and expand services available to residents.
“Our purchase and rehabilitation of Bridgeton Villas will not only significantly improve the quality of life for residents, but also will preserve it as affordable housing for the next three decades,” WinDevelopment President Larry Curtis said. “We could not be more pleased to team up with Gateway Community Action Partnership, the city of Bridgeton and the state of New Jersey to transform this property into a high-quality community with modern amenities and services.”
Bridgeton Villas, located at 205 Cottage Ave., was built between 1966 and 1969. The property consists of 28 one-bedroom units, 96 two-bedrooms and 36 three-bedroom units.
The first phase of the rehab initiative will improve five buildings and 100 units, WinnDevelopment said.
“This project stands out for a number of reasons that are good for Bridgeton, its residents and the South Jersey community,” state Senate President Stephen Sweeney (D-West Deptford) said. “It starts with putting men and women to work in good-paying jobs that will be an immediate benefit for the economy. The longer-term benefits include the quality of life for the individuals and families who will live here, the availability of affordable housing and the modernization and improvement of the housing infrastructure.”
WinnDevelopment said the project will create 40 construction jobs, with special focus on local employees and subcontractors. The firm selected DiMarco Constructors out of New York as the general contractor and The Architectural Team out of Chelsea, Massachusetts, to carry out the project.
“WinnCompanies is thrilled to have another opportunity to bring together state, federal and private capital resources in order to finance the comprehensive rehabilitation of a critical affordable housing asset in south New Jersey, where the need is tremendous and the private capital markets are not able to do it alone,” Brett Meringoff, senior vice president for WinnDevelopment, said.
Five units at the complex will be brought up to ADA compliance and 10 units have been reserved for special needs housing, WinnCompanies said.
Housing and Urban Development provided financing for the project. The New Jersey Housing Mortgage Finance Agency granted the developer a Low Income Housing Tax Credit and the Special Needs Housing Fund also provided financing.
WinnCompanies said the Villas received construction and permanent tax-exempt bond financing through the city and a Multifamily Catalyst subordinate loan. Aegon Capital Management provided equity and the city of Bridgeton provided a tax abatement.
WinnCompanies recently completed the rehab of City Crossings in Jersey City, a 131-unit affordable housing complex, and The Cover at RiverWinds in West Deptford, a market-rate development.