DCA Neighborhood Stabilization Program Aids

 Affordable Housing Initiative in Asbury Park 

West Side Neighborhood Revitalization Advances with Dedication of

Four Affordable, For-Sale Houses


 

ASBURY PARK, N.J. – New Jersey Department of Community Affairs (DCA) Commissioner Lori Grifa today joined local elected officials and representatives of Interfaith Neighbors and New Jersey Natural Gas in Asbury Park's West Side neighborhood to celebrate the completion of four affordable, for-sale houses that received funding from the DCA through its Neighborhood Stabilization Program.

"Building good, owner-occupied housing in depreciated neighborhoods reenergizes the area, restores pride of place, and gets people invested in the community in which they live," said Commissioner Grifa. "The neighborhood stability that comes from increased home ownership has been demonstrated in many communities, which is why the DCA is so proud to have contributed to the development of these affordable houses. We warmly welcome the families who will live in these homes and encourage them to get involved in their community."

The four homes are part of the DCA's Neighborhood Stabilization Program, which is aimed at assisting neighborhoods hard hit by home foreclosures. Under the federal Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008, the DCA secured $51,470,620 from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to provide funds to municipalities, counties and developers to acquire and rehabilitate foreclosed properties that might otherwise become sources of abandonment and blight.

The DCA awarded 35 federally-funded grants, including one to Interfaith Neighbors, an Asbury Park-based nonprofit group that assists working poor families and elderly residents of Monmouth County with basic nutrition and housing needs. Interfaith Neighbors and its partners, Monmouth Housing Alliance and Coastal Habitat for Humanity, are using the $2.67 million award to produce 30 affordable housing units in the West Side neighborhood. Of these units, 22 will be for-sale units providing homeownership opportunities in a neighborhood where less than 20 percent of the existing housing stock is owner occupied. Six units have been completed to date.

All properties assisted with Neighborhood Stabilization Program funding must be completely renovated and adhere to certain federal requirements to employ local contractors and residents to do the rehabilitation and construction work.

New Jersey Natural Gas (NJNG) also assisted Interfaith Neighbors and its partners in developing the four affordable houses. Through its Home Ownership Program, NJNG has worked with Interfaith Neighbors to produce affordable housing in Asbury Park, Neptune and Long Branch.

For more information about the Neighborhood Stabilization Program, log on to http://www.nj.gov/dca/divisions/dhcr/offices/nspguide.html on the DCA website.

 

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