ORANGE, N.J. – New Jersey Housing and Mortgage Finance Agency (HMFA) Executive Director Anthony L. Marchetta joined local officials and community leaders to break ground on Highview Village, a 28-unit affordable housing community located on High Street in the City of Orange, Essex County. The HMFA, an affiliate of the Department of Community Affairs, is providing approximately $4.6 million in financing for the project through a construction loan and its Choices in Home Ownership Incentives Created for Everyone (CHOICE) program.
“Highview Village represents not just an expansion of affordable housing options in the Orange area, but it will serve as an asset to the surrounding community,” said DCA Acting Commissioner Richard E. Constable, III, who is Chair of the HMFA. “We are proud to be involved in projects such as these because they create high-quality affordable housing for those New Jersey households who need it.”
Once completed, Highview Village will include two newly constructed, three-story buildings with 14 condominiums in each building. All 28 condominiums will be homeownership units, which will range from one-bedroom to four-bedroom units. Each of the condominiums will have a private front entrance and either a rear deck or patio. Main Street, which is one block from the project, is fully developed with numerous retail stores and services.
Of the condominiums, five will be deed-restricted as affordable, priced between $61,000 and $142,000, and available to households with incomes at or below 50 percent to 80 percent of the area median income. There will also be 23 emerging market units priced between $210,000 and $241,000.
The HMFA approved a construction loan of approximately $2.6 million for the project. The Agency also approved a CHOICE subsidy allocation in an amount not to exceed $1.985 million. The CHOICE program provides subsidy and construction financing for the development of single-family, for-sale housing units that meet the diverse economic development needs of New Jersey’s towns and cities.
“The HMFA is dedicated to increasing the availability and accessibility of safe, decent and affordable housing to families in New Jersey and this project does just that,” said HMFA Executive Director Marchetta. “Highview Village will help meet the demand for newly constructed housing in Orange and help revitalize one of the city’s redevelopment areas.”
The developer of this project is New Heights Ministries Urban and Community Development Corporation, a non-profit organization located in Hillside, New Jersey. New Heights Ministries has previously completed three projects with HMFA.
For more information on HMFA programs and mortgages, please call 1-800-NJHOUSE or 609-278-7400, or log on to www.nj.gov/dca/hmfa/.