Oliver Station at 1800 St. in Camden — Courtesy: The Michaels Organization/Virtua Health
By Joshua Burd
Housing and health care have come together in Camden as part of a new age-restricted, 47-unit apartment building that opened its doors last month.
Its developer, The Michaels Organization, joined Virtua Health in early August to unveil the $24 million project at 1800 St. in the city’s Whitman Park neighborhood. The building known as Oliver Station is now providing affordable housing to seniors while delivering primary care from an on-site, a 5,200-square-foot doctor’s office, thanks in large part to a state initiative to help build mixed-use communities near hospitals.
Stakeholders noted recently that the property is the first in South Jersey and the second in the state to benefit from the Hospital Partnership Subsidy Program, which is operated by the New Jersey Housing and Mortgage Finance Agency.
“This trailblazing community will improve the lives of many and set an example for the good that can happen when compassionate, forward-thinking organizations join forces to address societal challenges,” said Dennis W. Pullin, CEO and president of Virtua Health.
Michaels CEO Mark Morgan added: “We are grateful for the local and state support of this innovative community and the opportunity to bring residents modern, high-quality affordable housing, as well as our partnership with Virtua that will ensure our residents have access to primary care right here on the premises, in addition to a direct connection to Virtua’s comprehensive network of world-class care.”
According to a news release, Virtua is contributing $4.1 million to support Oliver Station, while NJHMFA provided $4.2 million through the subsidy program. The funds have helped a project that has revived a long-unused parcel next to the PATCO Speedline’s Ferry Avenue Station and about a third of a mile from Virtua Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital, which is a hub for advanced and complex care.
Along with the 47 modern apartments designed by Camden-based Urban Practice, the building has on-site fitness center, laundry facilities and a community gathering space, the news release said. Meantime, Virtua Primary Care – Camden at Oliver Station offers 10 exam rooms and at least four or five attending internal medicine physicians alongside nurses, medical assistants and other team members that can serve both residents and the broader Camden community.
“Oliver Station, a project developed with funding from private, hospital and NJHMFA subsidy through the agency’s nationally renowned Hospital Partnership Subsidy Program, will provide modern, quality affordable housing and wraparound health services to 47 senior households,” NJHMFA Executive Director Melanie R. Walter said. “The late Lt. Governor Sheila Oliver, a champion of housing, health care and community services, would be proud to see this transformative project come to fruition.”
The building honors both the lieutenant governor, who died in August 2023, and the Rev. Thomas Clement Oliver, who died in 1900 and was a conductor on the Underground Railroad. The latter, who briefly lived in Camden, once presided over the Macedonia African Methodist Episcopal Church, the city’s oldest African American institution and a refuge for freedom seekers, according to the State of New Jersey.
Moreover, Oliver Station recently earned a prestigious Smart Growth Award from nonprofit New Jersey Future, which cited its focus on forward-thinking design, sustainable development and equitable revitalization.
“Quality housing is the cornerstone of a strong, vibrant and healthy community,” Camden Mayor Victor Carstarphen said. “Oliver Station will be the first community in South Jersey of this kind. The project integrates quality affordable senior housing with top-notch health care and focuses on delivering and advancing health equity for residents. This is a place that is safe, stable, dignified and a place residents can call home. We are so excited to have two great community partners bring affordable homes and direct access to high-quality health care within the community.”
In addition to benefiting from the hospital subsidy partnership program, Oliver Station also received 4 percent Low-Income Housing Tax Credits issued by the HMFA, the news release said. TD Bank invested in the tax credits, which were syndicated by Berkadia.
