Christie Administration Announces $30 Million
Neighborhood Enhancement Program For Sandy-Impacted Communities
Program Grants Will Help Stabilize Neighborhoods at Risk of Blight by
Creating New Affordable Housing Options for New Jersey Families

Trenton, NJ – In an effort to continue to stabilize neighborhoods impacted by Superstorm Sandy, New Jersey Department of Community Affairs (DCA) Commissioner Richard E. Constable, III today announced that $30 million in funding is now available for nonprofit and for-profit developers through the Neighborhood Enhancement Program. The new funding will provide zero percent loans to rehabilitate abandoned, foreclosed and vacant housing and to redevelop lots to create affordable housing options in formerly blighted buildings.

“A key component in recovering from Superstorm Sandy is the revitalization of individual neighborhoods in order to encourage families to return to those impacted areas and rebuild. The Neighborhood Enhancement Program will provide much needed funds to communities as they work to rehabilitate and prevent blight,” said Commissioner Constable. “This program also addresses our state’s need for affordable housing options in various areas impacted by the storm and is a continuation of programs we recently launched that will assist homeowners, renters, communities and local governments rebuild and recover from the storm.”

The $30 million program will support projects in the nine counties most impacted by Sandy -  Atlantic, Bergen, Cape May, Essex, Hudson, Middlesex, Monmouth, Ocean and Union - and create affordable housing units that meet federal guidelines. The program will provide up to $250,000 in subsidy per unit for project-related capital costs including construction costs, professional fees, financing fees, acquisition and development contingencies.

Projects that demonstrate linkages to economic development and job creation and ties to social services, facilities, or educational investments and are linked to a revitalization plan for the neighborhood will be given specific consideration for funding.

Today’s program launch is part of the ongoing efforts by the Christie Administration to support Sandy-impacted homeowners, landlords and renters. New Jersey has now secured $379 million in Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Disaster Recovery funds for programs specifically for renters and rental property owners. These programs will replenish the stock of rental housing throughout affected areas, repair affordable rental units left uninhabitable by the storm, and provide affordable housing for residents in need. Through the Administration’s various efforts and investments, it anticipates that more than 7,000 new affordable housing units statewide will be created over the next two years.

The program is part of the New Jersey Disaster Recovery Action Plan that outlines how the State will utilize $1,829,520,000 in Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Disaster Recovery funds provided by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). In addition to the $30 million slated for the Neighborhood Enhancement Program, additional programs have been launched by the Christie Administration, including the Landlord Incentive Program, which allows rental property owners to expand the State’s inventory of affordable housing for low- and moderate-income households, and the Pre-development Fund for Affordable Rental Housing which provides non-profit developers with monetary assistance to fill the ongoing need of affordable rental housing in the wake of Sandy.

Last month, the Christie Administration launched the $780 million “reNew Jersey Stronger” Housing Assistance Initiative, which includes the Homeowner Reconstruction, Rehabilitation, Elevation and Mitigation (RREM) Program, the Homeowner Resettlement Program, and housing recovery centers in each of the nine counties most impacted by Superstorm Sandy.

For more information on the program, visit https://njdcasage.state.nj.us/RFPMailingRequest_List.asp.