| Jersey City, N.J. (March 4, 2015) - The Jersey City Housing Authority and Pennrose Properties, LLC held a groundbreaking ceremony for the fourth and final phase of the Gloria Robinson Court Homes, a vibrant mixed-income apartment community in Jersey City, N.J. Federal, state and city officials participated in the event celebrating the final phase that will include 70 apartments and a 10-classroom Head Start early childhood education center, being administered by Greater Bergen Community Action. At full build-out the completed community will encompass 274 units of workforce housing on a 7.6-acre site. Gloria Robinson Court Homes (Phases III & IV) were developed by Pennrose Properties, LLC, in partnership with the Jersey City Housing Authority (JCHA). These two phases are professionally managed by Pennrose Management Company. "Projects like Gloria Robinson are an example of how we can transform outdated public housing sites into desirable mixed-income communities that provide access to housing and quality education in one place," said Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop. "Our vision is for more new development - both affordable and market rate - to incorporate this model of providing much-needed pre-k space for our growing student population." "It is another proud moment for our Housing Authority to enter the last phase of the successful transformation of the A. Harry Moore public housing complex," said Assemblyman Raj Mukherji, who is also the Chairman of the Jersey City Housing Authority. "At our redevelopments, affordable housing is indistinguishable from quality market-rate housing. Moreover, the continued input and participation of our valued residents in the planning process resulted in changes and added design features that were not present in earlier phases." Speakers at the ceremony included Timothy Henkel, senior vice president, Pennrose Properties; Assemblyman and JCHA Chairman Raj Mukherji; Vivian Brady-Phillips, deputy mayor for Jersey City; Patricia Madison, acting executive director, Jersey City Housing Authority; Anthony Marchetta, executive director, New Jersey Housing and Mortgage Finance Agency;Maria Maio-Messano, field office director, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development; Field Office Director, Gloria Robinson, community organizer and resident advocate, Robert Halsch, CEO, Greater Bergen County Action, and Miles Cary, senior vice president, Bank of America. "This final phase brings us into the home stretch for this community, culminating with the Head Start School," said Henkel. "We are proud to be just one of the many organizations and countless individuals who contributed to making this happen." The 70 units in the fourth phase will include one, two, three, and four-bedroom apartments. The units will be housed in three-story townhouse and four-story elevator buildings. The development is part of a HOPE VI Revitalization and will receive HOPE VI funds from the Jersey City Housing Authority. The development also received an allocation of Low Income Housing Tax Credits from the New Jersey Housing and Mortgage Finance Agency, CDBG-DR Sandy Relief Funds, HOME funds from the City of Jersey City, Construction loans from Bank of America, Enterprise, and New Jersey Community Capital. Bank of America provided equity through the purchase of Low Income Housing Tax Credits. The completed phase will be Energy Start v3-certified. Units will feature carpeted bedrooms, tile bathrooms, energy efficient dishwashers, electric over/ranges, and refrigerators. The affordable units are already home to many deserving families with two current units providing supported housing five women with developmental disabilities through PennReach. This new phase offers needed childcare for the surrounding community, affordable units for Jersey City and 5 special needs units for families facing homelessness. |
