Affordable Senior Housing Boasts Community Center

RPM Development Group's new development will allow renters to remain "close to family and friends."

Aberdeen Age Restricted Building.pdfBy Keith Loria, Contributing Editor

Aberdeen Township, N.J.—RPM Development Group is developing a three-building affordable housing development at the 14-acre former South River Metals Corp. property on Church St., in Aberdeen, N.J., which will include rental units for seniors and people of all ages, as well as a new senior community center.

“The Aberdeen council worked very hard to find the correct developer to make this project a reality,” Fred Tagliarini, Aberdeen’s mayor, said. “In particular, the need for senior housing is a top priority for this council. This is a very exciting project for Aberdeen, one that will allow local seniors to move from their single-family homes to affordable housing while remaining close to family and friends.”

The development will consist of two residential buildings—Hudson Ridge Senior Residence at Aberdeen, 67 one-bedroom and eight two-bedroom rental units of age-restricted housing, for those 55 years or older; and Hudson Ridge Residence at Aberdeen, 70 non-age-restricted one-, two- and three-bedroom rental units. Preference on the rentals will be given to households that were impacted by Hurricane Sandy.

Both planned four-story buildings will include a community room for residents’ use, offering everything from computer workshops, to financial services and tax preparation help, to physical fitness activities like yoga.

The third building, a separate 2,500-square-foot senior community center, will be available for use by all residents of Aberdeen, as well as for open space.

“The community center will be an important new amenity for our senior residents, providing a wide range of programming each week that will buttress the activities currently offered at the George Hausmann Senior Center on Noble Place,” Greg Cannon, an area councilman, said.

The development, which will be LEED certified at Gold or Platinum, is expected to begin construction in early fall, with a scheduled two-year build-out for completion. Existing buildings on the site have already been demolished.

“Some environmental remediation has been done at the property, but our first step in the development will be to complete the site remediation process,” said Brendan McBride, RPM’s vice president of development.

The Hudson Ridge development will be constructed with government assistance, including Community Development Block Grant Disaster Relief funding, and a 4 percent low-income housing tax credit, as well as a permanent mortgage from the New Jersey Mortgage and Housing and Finance Agency.