Pennrose Properties Opens Heritage at Alexander Hamilton in N.J.

By Jeffrey Steele, Contributing Writer

Paterson, N.J.—A ribbon-cutting ceremony has officially unveiled Phase III of the long-awaited Heritage at Alexander Hamilton in Paterson, N.J. The new affordable housing lifestyle community was developed by Pennrose Properties LLC, in partnership with the Housing Authority of the City of Paterson. Pennrose Management Company is handling management.

The $22.5 million, LEED-certified Heritage at Alexander Hamilton is a community of workforce housing for families, built with comfort as a priority. The community offers 205 apartments and townhomes whose rents are income-based and subject to income restrictions. The property’s opening was the culmination of a three-year development process.

“The timing of the development of the Phases II through VI are a direct result of an NJHMFA Qualified Allocation Plan (QAP) that was supportive of the HOPE VI funding that was already awarded to the Alex Hamilton Project,” Harry Moody, developer with Pennrose Properties, tells MHN. “Phases II, III and IV benefited from a submission of applications for tax credits in a set aside for HOPE VI projects. All received tax credits, which were a significant source of financing to help complete the project. Previous tax credit rounds and QAP associated with those rounds were not necessarily supportive of these projects, and all would have had minimal opportunities to obtain tax credits as the plans were written.”

Financing was a major challenge in the development process, as it always is, Moody adds. The projects in this revitalization project all have multiple sources of financing requiring competitive processes, he notes.

“Fortunately, this multiple-phased project was competitive when judged against similar projects, and was able to obtain the necessary financing to allow the development to come to fruition,” Moody reports.

“One of the more challenging issues was development cost constraints and trying to develop the project within the regulations of the funding agencies,” Moody says. “The previous site was completely demolished, which meant there was nothing left but vacant land. Consequently, all new infrastructure had to be constructed to support the housing that was to come. This was a huge undertaking and posed many problems in terms of building infrastructure and housing units under the cost caps in place.”

To address this issue, the development team divided the project into strategically planned phases that would use different funding and different regulations to achieve its goals, he adds.

“The development represents quality affordable and safe housing for families to raise their children and live in relative peace,” Moody says. “The development is of quality construction, which means that many families will not have to live in sub-par conditions anymore. There is quality on site management to insure that the housing remains safe, well maintained and affordable . . . In short, we believe that there is now peace of mind that did not exist at Alexander Hamilton prior to the new development.”