Complex Will Provide 88 Housing Units

JACKSON, NJ – State and local officials, including New Jersey Housing and Mortgage Finance Agency (NJHMFA) staff, celebrated the grand opening Thursday of The Ponds at Jackson Twenty-One, which received Superstorm Sandy recovery funds and provides 88 rental apartments affordable to families.

The Ponds at Jackson Twenty-One features townhouse-styled apartments in 11 two-story buildings on Freehold Road. The development includes one- to three-bedroom apartments, a clubhouse for residents, tot lot, basketball court and multipurpose field. It is near schools, including Jackson Memorial High School, and close to Interstate 195, the Jersey Shore, parks and outdoor entertainment facilities, and shopping.

“The Ponds is a substantial investment in the Jackson community and continues to help meet a demand for affordable housing that was exacerbated by Superstorm Sandy,” said NJHMFA Executive Director Charles A. Richman. “We are very proud of our efforts to help rebuild and restore in the six years since Sandy hit our state and to provide the capital financing required to leverage recovery funding with our existing programs and financing.”

Residents have begun moving into the complex. During the first 90 days of lease up, priority for residency will be given to individuals who were displaced by or experienced major or severe storm damage from Superstorm Sandy. Storm-impacted residents can learn more about affordable housing projects funded with Sandy recovery dollars by visiting the New Jersey Housing Resource Center at www.njhrc.gov and clicking on "Priority Housing for Sandy-Impacted Residents," which will take you to a website listing flyers on available housing by county.

NJHMFA provided $12.6 million in construction and permanent financing as well as $14.5 million in federal Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery assistance through the Fund for Restoration of Multifamily Housing (FRM). The FRM program was created following Superstorm Sandy to provide for-profit and non-profit housing developers an opportunity to secure zero-interest and low-interest loans to finance the development of affordable housing in the nine counties most impacted by the storm.

To date, 76 projects have been awarded FRM funding to create nearly 6,050 rental housing opportunities, 90 percent of which are affordable to low- and moderate-income households earning less than 60 percent of Area Median Income (AMI). This includes 1,187 housing units in 17 projects in Ocean County.

NJHMFA also awarded the developer, the Walters Group, federal 4% Low Income Housing Tax Credits, which generated $7.2 million in private equity.

Rents for very low-income residents earning up to 30 percent AMI (between $18,103 to $34,560), range from $465 to $655 depending on household and apartment size. Rents for low-income residents earning up to 50 percent AMI (between ($29,417 to $57,600) range from $795 to $1,095, while rents for moderate-income residents earning up to 60 percent AMI ($35,589 to $69,120) range between $975 to $1,275, all dependent on household and apartment size.

For leasing information, visit www.wgapts.com.

For more information on NJHMFA programs, visit www.njhousing.gov.