RPM Development Group recently hosted a ribbon-cutting ceremony at Hudson Ridge Residences and Hudson Ridge Senior Residences in Aberdeen — Courtesy: New Jersey Housing and Mortgage Finance Agency
By Joshua Burd
RPM Development Group has unveiled a new 145-unit affordable housing property in Aberdeen, marking the completion of an effort to redevelop a long-vacant industrial site.
The builder joined state and local officials recently to open the new property at 100 Church St., which is available to both families and seniors. Known as Hudson Ridge Residences and Hudson Ridge Senior Residences, the buildings have revitalized what was a former smelting and metal works plant and later a furniture warehouse that had been abandoned for more than 20 years.
The site underwent a significant environmental cleanup, state officials said.
“This outstanding redevelopment project will provide high quality housing that is affordable for residents while simultaneously uplifting a neighborhood badly in need of restoration,” said Lt. Gov. Sheila Y. Oliver, who also leads the state Department of Community Affairs. “With access to local amenities and supportive services, this new residence will provide mixed income households as well as seniors and disabled persons a new lease on life.”
The Hudson Ridge project comes in an area whose affordable housing supply was impacted by Hurricane Sandy. As a result, RPM received some $25.8 million from the federal government’s Fund for Restoration of Multifamily Housing, which allows for-profit and nonprofit housing developers to secure zero-interest and low-interest loans to finance affordable housing development in such areas.
The state Housing and Mortgage Finance Agency said that, since 2012, 16 projects with more than 1,000 affordable apartments have been created in Monmouth County.
HMFA also provided a combined $22.7 million in permanent and construction funding for the complexes, while awarding both projects 4 percent Low Income Housing Tax Credits, which generated a total of $13.4 million in private equity.
Hudson Ridge consists of two four-story buildings with one- to three-bedroom apartments for very low- to moderate-income families and seniors age 55 and over, according to a news release. Rents on one-bedroom units at Hudson Ridge Residences range from $834 to $1,024, while two-bedroom units go for $1,002 to $1,217 and three-bedroom apartments rent for $423 to $1,410.
At Hudson Ridge Senior Residences, rents for one-bedroom apartments range from $840 to $1,025, HMFA said, while two-bedrooms go for $560 to $1,230. Ten units in each development have vouchers under which the tenant portion of the rent will be income-based.
“The Hudson Ridge development not only provides vital housing that is affordable but reinvests in an area which has been in dire need of redevelopment for some time,” said Charles A. Richman, the HMFA’s executive director. “At the same time, as the six-year anniversary of Superstorm Sandy approaches, we are pleased to see another development come to fruition that has helped rebuild and restore a community that was terribly affected.”