Long Branch Housing Authority Projects Moving Forward

The Long Branch Housing Authority (LBHA) recently received some great news from the state.

LBHA Director Tyrone Garrett said the state Housing Mortgage and Financing Agency (HMFA) has granted the group tax credits to , at the corner of Seventh and Joline Avenues, turning it into a senior citizens apartment complex, and to , at Wardell Place.

Garrett announced the news at a press conference on Monday morning at the authority headquarters at 2 Hope Lane, along with officials from Penrose Development, which will be handling Woodrow Wilson, and Conifer and Metro, which be handling the Gregory School construction. The LBHA received nearly $16 million for the Gregory School project and $15 million for the Woodrow Wilson project.

Gregory School will be gutted to construct 65 affordable housing units but the outside façade will remain intact, maintaining the building’s historic appearance, LBHA spokesman Christopher Pugliese has said. The plan for the Woodrow Wilson apartments is a two-phase process that will ultimately demolish 136 apartments, replacing them with 150 new units, Pugliese has said.

The first phase of the Gregory School project will include demolishing and renovating 65 units near the complex's High Street entrance.

The second phase would include the demolition of the remaining original apartments and construction of 85 new units, for a total of 150 new apartments, Garrett has said.

The current residents would receive relocation vouchers and are allowed to stay "where they deem fit" during the course of the demolition, Garrett has said. They will also be given the first opportunity to return to the new apartments once they are completed, he has said.

There is no additional cost for the relocation of the residents, Garrett has said.

The new Woodrow Wilson apartments will be modeled after the Garfield Court apartments, which are also owned by the LBHA.

The existing baseball field in the complex will be removed and replaced by a retention basin to help mitigate flooding concerns on the property. Garrett said the LBHA has also applied to FEMA to help with flooding issues.

The Gregory School project has two phases, and the first will include the construction of 65 one and two-bedroom units located in the school building and a new four-story structure that would be built near the school, Garret has said. The units would be available to those whose incomes are at or below 60 percent of the area's median income, he has said.

The second phase of the project would include the addition of 47 housing units as well a mixed-use building, Garret has said.

"It could be a small retail or office space to support the community," Garrett has said. 

Penrose Development Officer Jacob Fisher said of the 34 applications made to the HMFA, 12 were approved statewide.

Garrett said he couldn't be happier that the LBHA was able to secure funding for both projects.

"This is a great feat for the housing authority that will help us accomplish our mission or providing quality housing and improving the life of residents," Garrett said.

He said he was also pleased that the projects will also create jobs for the entire construction processes.

Conifer Vice President Charles Lewis said construction on the Gregory School could begin in March of next year and be completed by March, 2013.

Fisher said construction on the first phase of the Woodrow Wilson project could begin in June of next year and be completed some time in 2013.