New Jersey Housing and Mortgage Finance Agency

Christie Administration Marks Grand Opening of Workforce For-Sale Townhomes at Leewood Villages at Rowand Pond in Camden County

For Immediate Release:
April 28, 2016
Contact:
Tammori Petty
,
Emike Omogbai
609-292-6055

49 New Emerging Market Townhomes are Now Available in the Borough of Clementon, Camden County

CLEMENTON, NJ – New Jersey Housing and Mortgage Finance Agency (HMFA) Executive Director Anthony L. Marchetta recently joined elected state and local officials and community leaders to celebrate the grand opening of 49 new, affordable, workforce for-sale townhomes at Leewood Villages at Rowand Pond. Homebuyers can now qualify for home ownership through HMFA’s Choices in Home Ownership Incentives Created for Everyone (CHOICE) program. Renaissance Pond 1, LLC, an affiliate of Leewood NJ, LLC, is the developer of Phase One.

The HMFA, an affiliate of the Department of Community Affairs, provided a construction loan of $3.6 million and approximately $2 million in financing for the venture, through its Choices in Home Ownership Incentives Created for Everyone (CHOICE) program. 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. Emerging market communities represent new home development in areas where the market price of a for-sale unit is less than the reasonable cost of acquiring the land and constructing the unit.  The 100% Mortgage Financing Program allows qualified borrowers to finance the full sales price of units constructed under the CHOICE program.

“The Agency’s CHOICE program serves as a catalyst for the creation of viable homeownership markets in municipalities where home values currently do not support a sustainable new construction housing market,” points out HMFA Executive Director Marchetta. “Whenever we can offer Emerging Market for-sale homes in areas like this, we feel gratified to be able to help people get in at the early stages of the revitalization renaissance – and that is certainly what is happening in the borough of Clementon.”

Phase One’s 49 Emerging Market townhomes are located on 23 acres behind a seven-acre retail and commercial component of the larger Leewood Villages master plan, at 250 White Horse Pike, Clementon. The community will include a total of 205 fee simple townhome residences where walking/jogging trails will connect Rowand Pond, a State Park and trout fishing area with the neighborhoods of Leewood Villages.
 
Townhomes will feature 12 two-bedroom, two bath, two-story plans priced at $169,999; 12 three-bedroom, two-bath two-story floor plans priced at $174,990 and $179,990 for end units; and 25 three-bedroom, two-and-a-half bath, three-story townhome designs priced at $189,990 and $199,990 for end units. Townhome floor plans range from 1,332 to 2,092 square feet.
 
All townhomes are equipped with a dishwasher, microwave, range and refrigerator and tiled bathroom and kitchen floors. Each residence comes with a garage plus driveway for two dedicated parking spaces per home.  Additional visitor parking is available in the development.
 
Residents will enjoy close proximity to bus stops, grocery stores, gas stations and drug stores along the White Horse Pike.
 
The value of the CHOICE program, to both developers and homebuyers, is significant. The Agency provides 50% of the construction loan with the balance provided by one of HMFA’s approved, participating lenders. The actual CHOICE subsidy is made up of funds provided by the Agency to fill the gap between the cost to build a townhome and its market sale price. Developers can secure up to $50,000 to build each new home. Homebuyers benefit from HMFA’s 100% LTV 30-year, fixed-rate mortgages by paying no mortgage insurance and those qualified can receive down payment and closing cost assistance.
 
The $10.9 million development cost of this project will provide housing opportunities affordable to New Jersey families in the workforce and will continue to have a positive economic impact on the Borough of Clementon and greater Camden County. HMFA estimates that the project will generate more than $17.2 million in one-time economic output, defined as the total value of industry production, such as sales and business revenues. During construction, the project will support approximately 103 direct and indirect/induced full-time equivalent jobs, and more than $632,000 in state and local taxes.  Once completed, the project will continue to add value to the community by providing approximately $1.9 million in ongoing economic output, 10 direct and indirect/induced full-time equivalent jobs, and approximately $109,000 in state and local taxes annually.

Economic Impact Analysis figures were estimated using multipliers derived from a 2013 study entitled “Economic and Fiscal Impacts of the New Jersey Housing and Mortgage Finance Agency’s Investment in Affordable Housing,” conducted by HR&A Advisors, Inc., a real estate and economic development consulting firm.

For over 20 years, the Leewood NJ family of independent companies has been New Jersey’s premier choice for quality designed and constructed residential communities in urban, exurban, and redeveloping areas. Based in Central New Jersey, Leewood NJ is a multi-faceted real estate development firm, using a hands-on approach to deliver value to its homeowners at prices they can afford and in communities which spur revitalization in the areas around them.  Prospective Leewood NJ homeowners can take advantage of Leewood NJ one-stop shopping, an approach which provides assistance in the selection of a home, a mortgage which is right for each buyer, and a closing process which makes it easier to become a homeowner.

For more information on HMFA programs, please visit www.njhousing.gov