Christiana Foglio, CEO of Community Investment Strategies
By Joshua Burd
Community Investment Strategies has broken ground on a new 100-unit, age-restricted affordable housing complex in Galloway, the developer announced last week.
Known as Heritage Village at Galloway, the long-awaited project sits at White Horse Pike and Pomona Road and between two Garden State Parkway exits, offering a location that CIS touted as the gateway to Atlantic City. The community will be designated for renters at age 55 and above.
“Good things come to those who wait — and work hard,” said Christiana Foglio, the Lawrenceville-based firm’s CEO. “Assembling the many preliminary pieces for Heritage Village at Galloway was a complex process, but after years of determined effort, shovels are in the ground, and the pieces have come together.”
In a news release, CIS said the apartments would serve an area that was impacted by Hurricane Sandy and the decline of the Atlantic City casino industry. That caught the firm’s interest, with Foglio touting the role of Anthony Miranda of Valentino Realty in identifying the location.
Following several years of planning and negotiations, the developer has assembled a financing package that includes construction and permanent loans, tax-exempt bonds and Low Income Housing Tax Credits. CIS said it crafted the financing in partnership with the New Jersey Housing and Mortgage Finance Agency, JPMorgan Chase Bank N.A., Hudson Housing Capital and Community Development Block Grant Disaster Relief funding for areas hit hard by the October 2012 storm.
Foglio also credited Galloway Mayor Anthony J. Coppola Jr. for his “steadfast, ongoing cooperation” and that of former Mayor Don Purdy and the township council.
“Without their efforts, we would not be breaking ground here,” she said, later adding: “It takes a village to create a Heritage Village. Gratitude goes to our Vice President Barbara Schoor, who visualized and shepherded this project, and to Vice President Theresa Reed who completed the financing structure.
“We look forward to cutting the ribbon for this long-anticipated development, together with all of our financing and municipal partners.”
Apartments will be priced from $337 to $880 per month to income-qualified households, the news release said. Included are high-end finishes, fixtures and appliances, with amenities including social rooms, a library, fitness center, professional programming, on-site management and 24-hour emergency maintenance.
CIS also touted the location as being a 12-minute drive to Stockton University, Atlantic City International Airport, the William J. Hughes Technical Center and the historic Seaview Hotel.
“From the beginning, we viewed the location as the key to a promising future,” Foglio said, “and as an opportunity to take the lead in helping to build up an area still recovering from Superstorm Sandy.”
