A project that will have 100 percent Hoboken senior affordable housing has moved one step closer to reality, with Council President Ruben Ramos telling the public shovels will be in the ground by the end of March.
By Dan Israel/Hudson County View
Monday evening the Hoboken City Council has unanimously (9-0) adopted an ordinance amending a lease agreement between the City of Hoboken and Community Investment Strategies, Inc. for property at 259 11th St.
The property, also known as 1033 Willow Ave., is currently the site of a parking lot, and changes to the lease agreement largely add in environmental language.
In response to resident questions, Ramos confirmed that this was for the six-story senior affordable housing project that will be home to 36 units and a ground floor activity room.
According to Ramos, shovels have to be in the ground by the end of March for the first 100 percent senior affordable housing in Hoboken in over 30 years, after construction was previously set for 2025.
“They have to have it in the ground by the end of March,” Ramos told the public.
Also related to the project, the council also reintroduced an ordinance to amend a non-disturbance agreement between the City of Hoboken, Heritage Village at Hoboken, LLC, and the New Jersey Housing and Mortgage Finance Agency (NJHMFA).
Initially set for second reading, the administration made enough changes to send it back to the beginning of the process.
According to Community Development Director Christopher Brown, there were changes made to that agreement that brought it back to first reading.
He said at the February 19th caucus meeting that the changes were made at the request of the NJHMFA, and that construction must commence by the end of March contractually.
The location for the senior affordable housing was previously the location of a tenement building destroyed by a fire in September 1973, which claimed the lives of 11 residents.
The property later became city-owned, and the administration and the Department of Community Development have worked to create affordable senior housing at the site through a partnership with the developer, Community Investment Strategies, over the last four years.
Funding for the project was made possible by the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs (DCA) Affordable Housing Production Fund, the NJHMFA mortgage, the Hudson County HOME Program, Low Income Housing tax credits (LIHTC), and the City of Hoboken’s Affordable Housing Trust Fund.
Following a Request for Proposals in August 2020, CIS was selected as the project’s developer.
The initial plan of 25 affordable senior units could not be financed through DCA’s Affordable Housing Trust Fund Program and evolved into a 36-unit project to secure necessary funding and long-term affordability.
After extensive discussions with the council subcommittee and community feedback, the City and CIS agreed to an amended Development Agreement in June 2023, which was followed by a 99-year land lease and a PILOT (payment in lieu of taxes) agreement.
Under the PILOT agreement, CIS will pay 1 percent of annual project revenues to the City in lieu of taxes.
The arrangement aims to ensure that the city retains ownership of the land while maintaining the ability to renew deed restrictions, preserving its commitment to affordable housing.
According to the ordinance, the council authorized the execution of a lease at the property on September 6th, 2023 via ordinance but this lease was never executed while the lessee secured financing and other approvals for the project.
Now that the other financing and approvals have been obtained in part via these ordinances, the project is moving ahead again.
1% on projected revenue, meanwhile Hoboken taxpayers will be hit with a double digit tax increase on top of already high property taxes.
Typical Hoboken elitists that hate affordable housing or seniors.
Go complain to Tiff
Hoboken is one of the most expensive places to live in this county, it is not a place for seniors or poor. There are a lot of affordable markets – West Virginia, Indiana, Maine, Michigan; Pennsylvania if you do not want to go too far. It is realistic to even own a detached house there.
You can thank the dumbass Board of Ed for an even higher tax increase, they are going on a 25% tax increase over the past two years already and based on the worthless negotiating skills with 38 Jackson, we will most likely see an even higher tax increase.
What happens if the shovels are not in the ground by March 30, 2025 ?
Considering Hoboken’s disastrous tack record with real estate deals this will be another botched and costly mess.
This is good for seniors who need affordable housing. And good for Ramos and the council for recognizing that affordable housing is expensive and requires tax abatements to make work.
After a recent embarrassing and expensive court loss Hoboken was told it can not give any preference to Hoboken residents regarding when assigning affordable housing.
Yeah they likely can’t restrict it to Hoboken residents and Hoboken will effectively subsidize random seniors from Sussex county or Union city.