The Station at Grant Avenue at 738-758 South Second St. in Plainfield — Courtesy: J.G. Petrucci Co. Inc.
By Joshua Burd
A development team has taken the wraps off a new 90-unit affordable housing property in Plainfield, while bringing new life to what was a blighted commercial property.
State officials say the project, a joint venture of J.G. Petrucci Co. Inc. and TD+Partners, will serve families and individuals with incomes between 30 and 60 percent of the area median income. In the process, the building at 738-758 South Second St. has transformed a vacant lot in a densely populated neighborhood, one where access to modern housing has been limited.
The developers joined public officials last week to unveil the project.
“The Station at Grant Avenue offers much-needed affordable housing opportunities for New Jersey’s working families,” said Lt. Gov. Sheila Oliver, who serves as commissioner of the state Department of Community Affairs. “A development such as this increases economic vitality in the neighborhood, which will help strengthen surrounding homes and the community.”
The developers, operating as South Second Street Redevelopment LLC, built the complex using $8.4 million in private equity generated by a 4 percent Low Income Housing Tax Credit award from the New Jersey Housing and Mortgage Finance Agency, according to a news release. Funding also included $15.4 million in permanent and construction financing through the agency and $15.3 million in federal Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery assistance financing through the Fund for Restoration of Multifamily Housing.
The FRM program, created after Hurricane Sandy, provides for-profit and nonprofit housing developers an opportunity to secure zero-interest and low-interest financing to develop affordable housing in the nine counties most impacted by the storm, including Union County, the HMFA said. During the first 90 days of lease-up in any project that has received FRM funding, applications submitted by individuals who were displaced by or experienced major storm damage from Sandy will be given priority review.
The HMFA noted that the income ranges for The Station at Grant Avenue translates to $22,260 to $44,520 per year for a single person and between $31,800 and $63,600 for a family of four. Rents for one-bedroom apartments range from $413 to $906, $484 to $1,074 for two-bedroom apartments and $546 to $1,228 for three-bedroom apartments.
Also on hand for the March 2 ribbon-cutting were HMFA Executive Director Melanie R. Walter, Plainfield Mayor Adrian O. Mapp, City Council President Steve Hockaday and Economic Development and Policy Director Valerie Jackson.
“Creating new affordable housing opportunities in a neighborhood helps to keep the community vibrant and spur new economic growth,” Walter said.
