Phase 3 of $165M NJ Project Lands Financing
The five-stage redevelopment will replace a former public housing community.
The Michaels Organization has closed on the financing for the third phase of William Stanley Ablett Village’s redevelopment, a $38 million affordable project comprising 78 units in Camden, N.J. This undertaking marks the developer’s largest single phase of affordable construction in the city.
An in-house crew serves as the general contractor, while Urban Practice provided design services. Construction is already underway.
This project is part of the larger five-phase Ablett Village redevelopment valued at $165 million, which aims to replace an aging 1943-built public housing community comprising 306 units. The first two stages—a 55-unit mixed-income senior housing community dubbed The Harrison and the affordable 75-unit Cramer Hill Family—are already online. These two were built less than 1 mile away from Ablett Village.
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The Michaels Organization began on-site redevelopment, including the demolition of 10 existing buildings and relocating the displaced residents to Cramer Hill Family and The Harrison. As part of the third phase, 11 townhomes will rise to replace the demolished buildings. Subsequent stages will bring the on-site total unit count at the redeveloped Ablett Village to 297.
Located at 307 Ablett Village, the redevelopment site is roughly 4 miles from downtown Philadelphia. The Cramer Hill Waterfront Park, which overlooks Delaware River, can be found within walking distance.
Upon completion, Better Tomorrows will provide supportive services such as financial literacy, job readiness and stability, as well as academic and health-oriented assistance.
Funds included a construction loan from TD Bank, a permanent mortgage from Berkadia and equity from Berkadia’s acquisition of the 9 percent LIHTC issued by New Jersey Housing and Mortgage Finance Agency. Additionally, HUD funded the project through its Choice Neighborhood Implementation Program.
Metro Philadelphia’s tempered affordable pipeline
Greater Philadelphia’s pipeline encompassed more than 17,100 units underway in March, according to Yardi Matrix data. Only 5.1 percent of the apartments under construction were within fully affordable projects. However, nearly 4,600 such units were in the planning and permitting stages, signaling the ongoing efforts to address the affordable housing challenges.
Last year, more than 800 units came online inside fully affordable communities—a staggering increase from 2023’s figure of roughly 200 apartments—the same source shows. For 2025, the data provider expects affordable debuts to be nearly cut in half.
