Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop, the Jersey City Housing Authority and The Michaels Org. have opened the first phase of Mill Creek Gardens, a 126-unit, mixed-income community in Jersey City, N.J. The entire property is expected to be delivered in a few months, but the developers unveiled the first 21 units. All but five of the apartments will be affordable.
The project includes four low-rise buildings on the site of the former Montgomery Gardens public housing development. Constructed in 1953, the prior Montgomery Gardens site consisted of six buildings totaling 440 units. The obsolete towers were demolished in 2016 to make way for the redevelopment. The new multifamily asset encompasses two- to four-bedroom units.
Complex financing effort
Project funding included $17.1 million in private equity raised through the sale of federal low-income housing tax credits by the New Jersey Housing and Mortgage Finance Agency and syndicated by Riverside Capital. Through its Conduit Bond program, NJHMFA also provided $23.5 million in construction and permanent financing as well as $13.9 million in Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery funds. The development also benefited from $2 million in Affordable Housing Trust funds from the Federal Home Loan Bank and $2.5 million from the Jersey City Housing Authority.
“Jersey City is developing rapidly. To see the rebirth of the distressed Montgomery Gardens site and its beautiful new construction that will serve as the new home to dozens of low-income Jersey City families is the reason why HUD exists. It’s an honor to contribute $20 million in HUD federal funding, plus HUD federal subsidies to this community-driven transformation,” said Lynne Patton, regional administrator for New York and New Jersey for HUD, in a prepared statement.
The development team includes WRT Design as the project’s architect and Prestige Building Co. as general contractor. Paulus, Sokolowski and Sartor is the civil engineer and PT Consultants is the environmental engineer. Interstate Realty Management will serve as property manager.
The Michaels Org. intends to break ground this spring on another mixed-income community. Recently, the company closed on $61 million in financing for Mission Trail at El Camino Real in San Marcos, Texas.
Image courtesy of WRT Design
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