Guest Columns
The next chapter in affordable housing in New Jersey

Since 2015, more than 280 towns in New Jersey have signed settlement agreements for their affordable housing obligations, while a judge has determined the statewide need to be about 155,000 units and experts project that about 50,000 of those will be created by 2025. Frankly, the court process is way too far down the road to try and move it back to the Council on Affordable Housing or another state agency. But that is not to say there are not some issues worth discussing as we move forward.

Government & Public Policy
Policy priorities: New Jersey Apartment Association

Real Estate NJ set out to identify the biggest public policy issues for commercial real estate, as New Jersey begins a new legislative session and a new administration under Gov. Phil Murphy. Here are the issues identified by David Brogan, executive director of the New Jersey Apartment Association.

Residential & Mixed Use
Planting the seed: Developer pitching concept plan for redeveloping 653-acre former research complex

There was a time when the sprawling former American Cyanamid complex in West Windsor bustled with more than 1,000 employees and agricultural researchers. A developer hopes to see the property bustling once again — but in a much different way.

The Rundown
Town alleges conflict of interest in affordable housing case, citing judge’s ties to developer

Attorneys for the township of South Brunswick are accusing a former Superior Court judge of having a conflict of interest, citing his ties to a developer that he went to work for only months after ruling that the municipality must zone for at least 1,500 affordable housing units.

Government & Public Policy
Rebuilding affordable housing: After decades of policy purgatory, is N.J. finally ready to move forward?

Two years after the state Supreme Court shook up New Jersey’s affordable housing landscape, dozens of towns in the state may finally be ready to turn the page, even as many others dig in for what looks to be an even longer fight.

Editor’s Note
Life after COAH

Covering real estate had never crossed my mind when I came out of school and started as a metro reporter in Middlesex County. But it wasn’t long before I found myself at council meetings and planning board hearings, listening to developers make their pitch to a town.

Government & Public Policy
Experts dissect, gauge impact of affordable housing ruling

A ruling by the state Supreme Court on Wednesday is being hailed as a victory for affordable housing advocates and developers, but reaction from other experts and stakeholders was mixed, as they worked to understand what the decision would mean going forward.

The Rundown
Developer gets OK for ShopRite, apartments in New Milford

A narrow vote in New Milford has cleared the way for a developer to proceed with plans for a new shopping center and apartment complex in the borough, published reports said.

Residential & Mixed Use
Is N.J. ready for an affordable housing building boom? Experts weigh in

For all of the uncertainty over how many new affordable housing units that municipalities will be forced to allow — whether it’s 100,000 or 300,000 — there will be another key question to answer when the state Supreme Court makes that determination.

Can the market in New Jersey support that many new homes?

Government & Public Policy
Rutgers conference to shine a light on affordable housing stalemate — and solutions

As the state Supreme Court weighs the issue of affordable housing, stakeholders will gather later this month to shed light on the issue and tackle one of New Jersey’s most divisive and seemingly unsolvable public policy questions of the past three decades.