Landis Square Senior Apartments II Mixed-Use Redevelopment with New Construction Will Provide 71 Affordable Rentals for Seniors in Downtown Vineland
VINELAND – New Jersey Housing and Mortgage Finance Agency (HMFA) Executive Director Anthony L. Marchetta recently joined local officials and community leaders to celebrate the groundbreaking for Landis Square Senior Apartments II, which will provide 71 affordable rental homes for seniors at 925 East Landis Avenue. Ten units will be set aside for seniors with special needs. The affordable housing complex is part of Landis Square East, a mixed-use redevelopment project in downtown Main Street, which will also include ground-floor retail space fronting Landis Avenue. The project is a partnership between Eastern Pacific Development and Tri-County/Gateway Community Action Partnership.
Situated in the southeast corner of East and Landis Avenues in downtown Vineland, Landis Square Senior Apartments II will involve construction of a three-story, 75,000 square foot structure that comprises 71 apartments designed for seniors and over 9,500 square feet of ground-floor retail space.
“This affordable housing community set within a mixed-use complex is a prime example of a well-planned revitalization project that will continue the positive trend that has put downtown Vineland in the spotlight for success,” says HMFA Executive Director Marchetta. “This project involves the demolition of a full city block containing a dilapidated motel and other structures. When you consider how this mixed-use complex fits into Vineland’s downtown Main Street redevelopment plan, there is little doubt that seniors living at Landis Square, as well as residents of the greater Vineland and Cumberland County community, will be in a greater position to benefit from fresh social and economic opportunities that come with a newly revitalized area.”
Landis Square East is one of the four corners redevelopment plans undertaken by the City of Vineland and Eastern Pacific Development. Included in the four corners is the completed restoration of the historic Landis Theater into a community performing arts showplace.
Landis Square Senior Apartments II will offer 65 one-bedroom and four two-bedroom, one-bath units for seniors 55 and older. Two three-bedroom apartments will be set aside for developmentally-disabled tenants. Rents will range from $124 to $680 per month. Apartment amenities will include range, refrigerator, dishwasher and disposal, electric heating and air conditioning. Emergency call buttons will be standard equipment in each apartment and all homes will be handicapped accessible. Two indoor elevators and laundry facilities on each floor will be included. Tri-County/Gateway Community Action Partnership is the social service provider for the special needs population.
The HMFA, an affiliate of the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs (DCA), awarded the developer partnership the extremely competitive 9 percent federal Low Income Housing Tax Credits which will generate nearly $13.9 million in private equity. Total development cost for the project is $17.8 million.
Additional financing for Landis Square Senior Apartments II includes $1.5 million in Urban Enterprise Zone funds, which is being used to further the Main Street Vineland initiative; $445,000 in Federal Home Loan Bank funds; and $510,000 in permanent loan funds.
The approximately $17.8 million development cost of this community provides affordable housing opportunities for New Jersey seniors and special needs residents, but will continue to have a positive economic impact on the Cumberland County locale. HMFA estimates that Landis Square Senior Apartments will generate approximately $28.2 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 170 direct and indirect/induced full-time equivalent jobs, and generate approximately $1.03 million in state and local taxes. When completed, the project will continue to add value to the community by providing more than $3.1 million in ongoing economic output, 18 direct and indirect/induced full-time equivalent jobs, and $178,000 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.
Specializing in high quality housing, Eastern Pacific Development assists municipalities in meeting their obligation to provide affordable housing, often with the added benefit of renovating older, deteriorating buildings into modern housing complexes. Control of all phases of the project, from application through the approval process, to actual construction, allows Eastern Pacific to deliver projects on time, and to the satisfaction of clients, partners, and host communities. As of December 2005, Tri-County Community Action Partnership operated nearly 50 different programs for low- and moderate-income residents of Cumberland, Gloucester, Salem and Cape May counties at dozens of sites throughout the region. All programs aim to guide participants toward a future of self-sufficiency.
For more information on HMFA programs, please call 1-800-NJHOUSE or (609) 278-7400, or visit www.njhousing.gov.