Grandview Terrace Apartments in Jersey City — Courtesy: Hudson Valley Property Group
By Joshua Burd
Hudson Valley Property Group has completed a $71 million acquisition, preservation and renovation project at a 283-unit senior housing tower in Jersey City’s Journal Square neighborhood.
The firm, which specializes in affordable housing preservation, said its upgrades at Grandview Terrace Apartments include everything from building modernization and energy-efficiency updates to unit renovations and the addition of an enhanced, high-definition monitoring system providing site-wide security coverage. It recently debuted the renovations after a 16-month, $15.2 million project, having also secured a new 20-year regulatory agreement with the U.S. Housing and Urban Development Department to maintain long-term affordability for residents.
“We’re elated to unveil the revitalized Grandview Terrace, a collaborative effort with the Jersey City Housing Authority and HUD that will ensure long-term affordability for local seniors that were previously at-risk of losing access to this affordable housing and possibly being displaced,” said Jason Bordainick, co-founder and managing partner of Hudson Valley Property Group. “From the comprehensive modernization to the installation of advanced security measures, every aspect of this project reflects our commitment to creating secure, inviting places for our residents to call home.”
According to the firm, renovations within the complex included new kitchen cabinetry and countertops and high-efficiency, stainless steel appliances, as well as high-output lighting and water conserving fixtures and the creation of fully compliant ADA units. Interior upgrades also included new flooring with subfloor repairs, wall patching and painting and a new sky lounge for residents with a stretching room, a community room, a library and a computer center with views of New York City.
HVPG used equity from its second affordable housing fund and a construction loan from Key Bank to finance the initial acquisition and substantial rehabilitation of Grandview Terrace Apartments, according to a news release. Upon completion last month, it refinanced the loan under the HUD Section 223(f) program with KeyBank.
Aside from securing the new HUD regulatory agreement, HVPG unlocked new rental subsidies for tenants as a result of the previously existing but expired HUD 202 restrictions through both project-based and tenant-based Section 8 vouchers, the news release said. The Jersey City Housing Authority also played a critical role and serves as the new contract administrator for all the HUD Section 8 voucher units.
The developer and JCHA also worked in partnership to secure new Section 8 subsidy for 267 low-income households that did not previously receive any rental assistance, the firm said. That will ensure that income-qualified tenants are protected and will pay no more than 30 percent of their income in rent.
No residents were displaced because of the transaction.
“The JCHA appreciates the opportunity to partner with Hudson Valley Property Group, HUD, the city and the county to preserve and provide quality, safe affordable housing to the senior citizens of Jersey City and Hudson County at Grandview Terrace,” said Patricia Ramirez, director of the Housing Choice Voucher Program of the Jersey City Housing Authority.
The project follows HVPG’s recent acquisition of a 1,140-unit affordable housing portfolio across Maryland and North Carolina and of Northgate One Apartments in Camden. It now owns more than 10,650 units of affordable housing across 65 properties throughout the Northeast, Midwest and Mid-Atlantic and Southeast regions, with plans to continue adding.
