DCA & HMFA Celebrate Grand Opening of 68-Unit

Affordable Housing Community in Newark

Studebaker Lofts Contributes to Revitalization of Newark's
North Ward Neighborhood


 

TRENTON, N.J. – New Jersey Housing and Mortgage Finance Agency (HMFA) officials joined Newark Mayor Cory Booker, local officials and project developers for the grand opening of Studebaker Lofts, an affordable housing community in the City of Newark's North Ward neighborhood. The HMFA, an affiliate of the Department of Community Affairs (DCA), provided mortgage financing in the amount of $6.6 million and also awarded federal Low Income Housing Tax Credits and Tax Credit subsidies for the project.

"This project is part of the Newark's Redevelopment Plan, which is aimed at overturning decades of blight and systemic disinvestment in the North Ward community," said HMFA Executive Director Anthony L. Marchetta. "The HMFA is committed to revitalizing Newark's neighborhoods by supporting exemplary projects like Studebaker Lofts."

Studebaker Lofts is the substantial rehabilitation and adaptive re-use of a former showroom and service center for the classic Studebaker car company. Located at 368 Broad Street, the building is a three-story, LEED Platinum, transit-oriented development with 68 housing units and a community center available to the tenants.  

Nineteen of the units are affordable to residents with incomes at or below 46 percent of the area median income (AMI) and another 13 units are affordable to residents with incomes at or below 55 percent AMI. The remaining 34 units are market units, although they are affordable to residents with incomes at or below 80 percent AMI.

HMFA provided $2.6 million in permanent financing, $4 million through the Agency's City Living Program, and $7.6 million in subsidy from the Tax Credit Exchange Program (TCX). Studebaker Lofts also received approximately $845,297 in private equity through the syndication of federal Low Income Housing Tax Credits.

HMFA is the administrator of federal housing tax credit programs for New Jersey. Low Income Housing Tax Credits are a dollar-for-dollar reduction in federal tax liability and act as a catalyst to attract private investment into the affordable housing market. TCX funds were made available to the HMFA through the federal American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 and are designed to activate affordable housing construction stalled by the economic downturn.

RPM Development LLC, a housing construction firm based in Montclair, NJ that specializes in affordable housing, developed the project and is managing the building.

For more information on HMFA programs and mortgages, please call 1-800-NJHOUSE or 609-278-7400, or log on to www.nj-hmfa.com.

###