PRC Acquires Affordable Apartment Community Near Philly
The new owner is planning substantial renovations at the 70-year-old property.
Property Resources Corp. has acquired Paulsboro Gardens Apartments, a 150-unit affordable housing complex in Paulsboro, N.J., with a $20.7 million bridge loan. The funding was provided by X-Caliber, a direct lender that offers FHA, bridge, USDA and C-PACE financing, and is also being used to help develop plans for a comprehensive renovation of the asset.
It is the first acquisition outside New York for the White Plains, N.Y.,-based full-service, vertically integrated family-run national real estate development firm.
The 70-year-old property was owned for decades by a local southern New Jersey family that was not identified. It is subsidized by a Section 8 Housing Assistance Payment contract and will remain permanently affordable under the new ownership.
Located at 70 Baird Ave., the 9-acre property has 21 low-rise residential buildings. The community has one- and two-bedroom units that range from 520 to 660 square feet.
PRC plans to make accessibility upgrades, interior unit renovations and exterior improvements such as replacing the existing vinyl siding. The firm will also convert the oil heating tanks to a sustainable electric VRF system and also make improvements to sewer and water infrastructure. Renovations are expected to start in the first quarter of next year.
Paulsboro is situated on the banks of the Delaware River in Gloucester County, N.J. Residents of Paulsboro Gardens Apartments have proximity to multiple shopping centers and parks, including Upland Park and Franklin D. Roosevelt Park. Downtown Philadelphia is some 17 miles away.
An expanding affordable footprint
Matthew Linde, PRC principal & CEO, said PRC has been targeting New Jersey for expansion due to its proximity to their home office in New York and the demand for more affordable housing.
“It presented a great opportunity for the firm to get to know the people in different municipalities all clamoring for firms with our skill set to devote more and more resources to providing housing that is much needed throughout the state,” Linde told Multi-Housing News.
Founded in 1971, PRC is known for its activity in the affordable housing sector. The firm provides development, design, construction, property management, operations and in-house architectural services for its projects. The firm has built or preserved more than 20,340 units of housing and developed $1.7 billion in projects.
Linde said PRC currently has a pipeline of about 10 different projects in various states across the U.S. as part of its growth plan to expand the organization nationally.
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“PRC also frequently partners with public housing authorities, including Trenton Housing Authority, where we are about to start on the first phase of a multi-phased demolish/replace project,” he said.
In New York, PRC recently worked alongside Avenue Realty Capital to transform a 19th century Catholic College into The Hartby, a 205-unit apartment building at 788 Willoughby Ave. in the Bedford-Stuyvesant section of Brooklyn. The Hartby started leasing in April, with almost a third of the units designated as affordable at 130 percent of the area median income.
In December 2021, PRC sold 1,904-unit affordable housing portfolio in the Bronx to a joint venture between Fairstead and Invesco Real Estate for $350 million. The 48-building portfolio comprised 2.3 million square feet in the Longwood, Tremont, Crotona Park and Morrisania neighborhoods.
