Transit-Oriented Project Will Provide 100 Rental Units, Contribute to Ongoing Revitalization

WEST ORANGE, NJ – A new transit-oriented development, which will provide 100 mixed-income rental apartments for families, broke ground yesterday in a ceremony joined by New Jersey Housing and Mortgage Finance Agency (NJHMFA) executive staff, local officials, and representatives of The Alpert Group, Ironstate Development, and HANDS Inc.

Valley Road Residential will feature a five-story building to house 45 market-rate units and 55 affordable apartments for households earning up to 60 percent of the Area Median Income (AMI), including seven reserved for households earning 30 percent AMI or less. Rents on the one- to three-bedroom apartments will range from $449 to $1,361 for the affordable units and $1,500 to $1,795 for market-rate units. The development, which is located at 22 Central Avenue in a mixed-use neighborhood and arts district undergoing significant revitalization, will also include onsite parking, a community room, and common laundry facilities. It is adjacent to the Highland Avenue train station and located in a Smart Growth Area.

“Valley Road Residential will continue to add to the revitalization of the surrounding community while providing homes that are affordable to working families,” said Lt. Governor Sheila Y. Oliver, commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs and chairwoman of the NJHMFA board. “The close proximity of the apartments to public transportation will provide easy access to job opportunities, enhancing its appeal to residents.”

Valley Road Residential, which is being developed on a former industrial site and brownfield, is adjacent to the Harvard Printing apartments in Orange, a 2018 NJ Future Smart Growth award-winning project developed by the same team with NJHMFA financing assistance.

Construction is anticipated to be completed in fall 2019, with rental information expected to be available at harvardprintingapts.com.   

“Valley Road fulfills one of our goals to expand mixed-income housing. Building housing that is more economically diverse can help reduce poverty and promote equity,” said NJHMFA Executive Director Charles A. Richman. “Greater income diversity lifts up all households.” 

NJHMFA awarded the development 9 percent Low Income Housing Tax Credits, which are expected to generate $12.5 million in private equity. The development, which will cost approximately $29.7 million to build, also received funding from West Orange’s Affordable Housing Trust Fund.

The Alpert Group, based in Fort Lee, is a family-owned, full-service real estate management and development company. Ironstate Development is a developer, owner and manager of innovative, large-scale real estate developments in New York and New Jersey. HANDS (Housing and Neighborhood Development Services, Inc.) has worked since 1986 to implement a neighborhood revitalization effort in the City of Orange and its urban neighbors.

For more information on NJHMFA and its programs, visit njhousing.gov.