New Jersey Department of Community Affairs (DCA)

DCA Announces Award of $6.6 Million in Community Development Block Grants

Posted on: 04/08/2022

Grants to Fund Community Improvements in Small Cities Throughout New Jersey

TRENTON, NJ – The New Jersey Department of Community Affairs (DCA) today announced the award of $6.6 million in Small Cities Community Development Block Grants (CDBG) to non-entitlement municipalities and counties in New Jersey. The 22 grants are going to 17 municipalities in seven counties. DCA’s Division of Housing and Community Resources receives, distributes, and administers these federal grant funds for the State of New Jersey.

“Governor Murphy and I are focused on strengthening New Jersey from the inside out through investments in core areas that impact all people’s lives,” said Lieutenant Governor Sheila Oliver, who serves as DCA Commissioner. “The Small Cities grants support this mission by helping our smaller communities provide decent housing, a suitable living environment, infrastructure improvements, and economic opportunities, especially for low-income and moderate-income people.”

Awards in this year’s application cycle will provide funding for worthwhile projects that include improvements at parks, recreation facilities, and municipal buildings to make them more accessible to disabled persons in compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act; upgrades to water supply facilities and infrastructure; and the moderate rehabilitation of housing for low and moderate-income residents.

Small Cities CDBG grants provide direct assistance to eligible municipalities and counties for housing rehabilitation, public facilities improvements, community revitalization, and economic development. Funding for the Small Cities CDBG Program is provided by the U. S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Community Development Block Grant Program. Only non-entitlement, less-populated communities and counties that do not receive direct funding from HUD are eligible for the Small Cities CDBG program.

Municipalities receiving Small Cities grants design their own projects and funding priorities. These locally developed projects are required to meet at least one of the three federal national objectives which include:

Activities that benefit low and moderate-income persons,
Assistance in the prevention or elimination of slums or blight, or
Urgent community development needs due to existing conditions that pose a serious and immediate threat to the health or welfare of the community where other financial resources are not available to meet such needs.

A description of the grant recipients and projects are listed below:

	2022 Small Cities Community Development Block Grant Awards

Grantee Name	County	Project Title	Project Description	Award Amount
Beverly City	Burlington	City of Beverly Housing Rehabilitation Program	Rehabilitate nine housing units occupied by low and moderate-income residents.	$163,000
Cape May City	Cape May	Kiwanis Community Park ADA Compliance Project	Remove mobility barriers at Kiwanis Community Park in order to bring the recreation facility into compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).	$400,000
Deerfield Township	Cumberland	ADA Compliance Improvements Phase 3	Remove remaining mobility barriers that hinder access to the disabled and elderly at Frank Lobiondo, Sr. Park, Carmel Park, and Eugenia Johnson Memorial Park for compliance with the ADA.	$396,200
Deerfield Township	Cumberland	Deerfield Housing Rehabilitation Program	Rehabilitate 12 housing units occupied by low and moderate-income residents.	$163,000
Dennis Township	Cape May	Dennis Municipal Complex ADA Compliance - Municipal Building	Remove mobility barriers at the municipal building that hinder access by the disabled and handicapped for compliance with the ADA.	$399,600
Downe Township	Cumberland	Downe Township Housing Rehabilitation	Rehabilitate 12 housing units occupied by low and moderate-income residents.	$163,000
Fairfield Township	Cumberland	Fairfield Township Home Rehabilitation	Rehabilitate 12 housing units occupied by low and moderate-income residents.	$163,000
Fairfield Township	Cumberland	Municipal Building ADA Compliance Phase 3	Implement Phase 3 of removing physical barriers that prevent handicapped access to the municipal building for compliance with the ADA.	$397,300
Hammonton Town	Atlantic	FY2022 ADA Improvements to Facilities at Hammonton Lake Park	Improve ADA-compliance features at the recreation facilities at Hammonton Lake Park.	$400,000
Hopewell Township	Mercer	ADA Compliance - Hopewell Convenience/Transfer Center	Bring the existing Convenience/Transfer center facility into compliance with the ADA by installing an additional service lane designated for use only by handicapped persons, senior citizens, and disabled veterans.	$367,100
Lower Township	Cape May	Villas Storm Drainage Project	Alleviate flooding within the Villas Neighborhood by replacing storm drainage facilities on Cloverdale Avenue, Evergreen Avenue, Spruce Avenue and S. Ocean Avenue.	$400,000
Middle Township	Cape May	Middle Township Housing Rehabilitation Program	Rehabilitate 12 housing units occupied by low and moderate-income residents.	$163,000
Middle Township	Cape May	ADA Compliance Township Municipal Building	Remove architectural barriers at the municipal building that hinder access by the disabled to improve compliance with the ADA.	$144,000
Pemberton Township	Burlington	Township of Pemberton ADA Enhancements Project Phase 2	Reconstruct non-ADA-compliant infrastructure and eliminate blight within the Browns Mills Town Center Redevelopment Area.	$400,000
Penns Grove Borough	Salem	Infrastructure Improvements - Straughn Lane Pump Station	Upgrades and improvements to the Straughn Lane Pump Station.	$345,600
Pilesgrove Township	Salem	Marlton Park ADA Compliance Phase 1	Removal of architectural barriers at Marlton Park to complete Phase I ADA improvements to benefit disabled persons from both Pilesgrove Township and adjoining Woodstown Borough.	$216,700
Sussex Borough	Sussex	Instrumentation Upgrades to the Water Treatment Plant	Instrumentation upgrades to the municipal water treatment plant, and also valve and water main replacement/renewal.	$400,000
Upper Deerfield Township	Cumberland	Upper Deerfield Township Housing Rehabilitation Program	Rehabilitate 12 housing units occupied by low and moderate-income residents.	$163,000
Upper Deerfield Township	Cumberland	Recreation ADA Compliance - Phase IV	Complete ADA improvements at the Seabrook Recreation Complex and Sunset Lake Playground by removing architectural barriers.	$400,000
Woodbine Borough	Cape May	Street and Related Infrastructure Reconstruction	Critical improvements to portions of Madison Avenue and Clay Street and the aging water system infrastructure beneath both streets.	$400,000
Woodstown Borough	Salem	Woodstown-Pilesgrove Joint Housing Rehabilitation	Rehabilitate 15 single family homes occupied by low and moderate-income families residing in Woodstown Borough and Pilesgrove Township.	$197,010
Woodstown Borough	Salem	Marvin L. Watson Park ADA Compliance	Removal of architectural barriers at Marvin L. Watson Park to complete ADA improvements and serve disabled persons residing in Woodstown, especially the residents of adjacent Freedom Village.	$400,000
			22 Approved Applications Total:	$6,641,510

More information about the Small Cities CDBG Program can be found at https://www.nj.gov/dca/divisions/dhcr/offices/cdbg.html.

The Division of Housing and Community Resources is committed to strengthening neighborhoods through the delivery of affordable housing and supportive services and to providing financial and technical assistance to municipalities, community action agencies, and other nonprofit organizations for community and economic development projects that improve the quality of life for residents, especially those who are vulnerable and disadvantaged.

DCA offers a wide range of programs and services, including local government management and finance, affordable housing production, fire safety, building safety, community planning and development, and disaster recovery and mitigation.

For more information about DCA, visit https://nj.gov/dca/ or follow the Department on social media: