Next Step Taken In Woodrow Wilson Apartment Demolition

The is taking the steps required to secure funding for the demolition and reconstruction of the .

The apartments, located at Wardell Place in Long Branch, are owned by the LBHA and are in need of rehabilitation. The authority knows this and is currently has an application pending with the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to demolish and rebuild and the apartments.

"We have preliminary approval for demolition," LBHA Executive Director Tyrone Garrett said during Tuesday night's meeting. "We are just waiting for final approval."

During Tuesday night's meeting, the Long Branch Council introduced an ordinance that would allow the LBHA to make payments in lieu of taxes, because of the fact that the project project qualifies for a tax abatement under the Long Term Tax Exemption Law. Garrett said this is a necessary step for the authority's application with HUD.

The authority's first payment in lieu of taxes would be about $35,000 and payments would span 30 years, with a final amount of  about $60,000, Garrett explained. He said the structure is currently being paid in lieu of taxes for about $8,500 per year.

The LBHA will also apply fax credit financing through the Housing and Mortgage Finance Agency (HMFA); the same process it is going through for the proposed plan to turn the old

"We're actually competing against ourselves with the Gregory School project," Garrett said. 

He said that was actually a good thing, and the the authority was happy to have potential projects such as these ready for funding.

If approved, the demolition and reconstruction would be done in two phases.

The first phase would be to demolish about half of the 136 apartments that currently exist at Woodrow Wilson and build 65 new units.

The first phase would cost about $14.2 million, Garrett said.

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.

The ordinance the council introduced last night, would only approved payment in lieu of taxes for the first phase of the project. Garrett said the council would have to draft another ordinance for the second phase.

Councilman John Pallone asked Garrett where the residents go while the apartments are being demolished.

Garrett explained that the residents receive relocation vouchers and are allowed to stay "where they deem fit" during the course of the demolition. They will also be given the first opportunity to return to the new apartments once they are completed.

He said there is no additional cost for the relocation of the residents.

Other council members asked about the baseball field that currently rests near the center of apartment complex.

Garrett said the field would be replaced with a retention basin.

"We have a drainage issue at Woodrow Wilson," Garrett said. 

He said other retention basins would also be added to the area to improve drainage.

Although the baseball field would be removed, Garrett said there could be a recreation area added to the complex. Plans for the recreation area are not final and will be explored in the future, Garrett said.