Greater Newark Housing Partnership to Create New Affordable Units
Two dozen new affordable and supportive apartments are coming to Newark’s Fairmount Heights neighborhood.
By Jeffrey Steele, Contributing Writer
Newark, N.J.—Two dozen new affordable and supportive apartments are coming to Newark’s Fairmount Heights neighborhood. The rental property’s creation is being made possible by Greater Newark Housing Partnership’s redevelopment of a psychiatric hospital building vacant for more than a decade.
Located at 128-134 South 10th Street, the development will complement other improvement efforts in the neighborhood. These include the construction or renovation of more than two-dozen single-family homes, the 13th Avenue growing garden, the new Kaboom! playground, streetscape and lighting improvements and the planting of 200 trees, says John Abramo, executive director of Greater Newark Housing Partnership.
The renovated building will feature four studio apartments of approximately 416 square feet each, nine one-bedroom units of about 660 square feet and eight two-bedroom apartments of about 850 square feet. Each apartment will have its own heating and air conditioning, as well as a state-of-the-art, energy-efficient tank-less water heater and Energy Star-rated windows and appliances.
The first-floor lobby will feature secure entry doors and mail boxes for each resident. Disability access will be provided by means of a ramp to the building’s main doors. Residents and the community will also have access to a large basement activity room featuring a kitchenette and accessible bathroom.
The basement will also include a resident laundry facility, an apartment for the live-in superintendent and an office for support services
“The rehabilitated South 10th Street property will act as a catalyst for additional redevelopment of buildings and houses, making the neighborhood increasingly attractive both as a residential and a retail commercial location within the City of Newark,” Abramo says.
Residents will be sourced through Apostles’ House transitional programs, the Housing Authority of Essex County, county agencies and local non-profit groups, including the Urban League of Essex County.
Individuals and families now living in the neighborhood, or having come from the neighborhood, will be given preference for available units.
Apostles’ House support services will be available to residents to help ensure they can transition to and maintain permanent housing. Among the services offered will be life skills training, referrals to appropriate agencies, budget counseling, food provision and child care.
“Parkmont Housing and Redevelopment LLC is excited to partner with Greater Newark Housing Partnership to transform this site into permanent housing for some of our most needy neighbors,” says Peter Amari, president of Parkmont Housing and Redevelopment, with which the Greater Newark Housing Partnership collaborated in redeveloping the South 10th Street site.
“This project will continue the progressive and transformative work in the Fairmount neighborhood, with brand new rental apartments and a large activity room for tenants and community,” he continues. “We are proud to deliver a project that will have such a positive and enduring impact.”
