Murphy Administration Launches First Phase of Smart Move Program to Help Communities Affected by Hurricane Ida

• Posted on: 10/4/2023

Program Will Help Fund the Development of Affordable Single-Family Housing within Counties Impacted by Hurricane Ida

TRENTON, NJ – The New Jersey Department of Community Affairs (DCA) today launched the first phase of the Smart Move Program, which aims to assist local governments that will partner with housing developers to construct affordable single-family housing in areas that have reduced flood risk from future storms.

During the program’s first phase, DCA will work with local governments in counties impacted by Hurricane Ida to fund projects that create energy-efficient, resilient, and affordable homes of good quality in lower flood risk areas. Local governments will partner with nonprofit or for-profit housing developers on these projects.

When the housing projects are completed, DCA will help link homeowners who have voluntarily accepted a property buyout through the State’s Blue Acres Buyout Program to move out of harm’s way with the new resilient housing developments. This new approach will give people safer options to remain in their communities and help offset tax ratable loss in municipalities where homeowners are participating in the buyout program.   

The Smart Move Program is the sixth Hurricane Ida recovery program that DCA has launched and is part of the third phase of the Murphy Administration’s Ida Recovery Strategy, which is focused on helping households and communities still in need of assistance from the damaging effects of Hurricane Ida, which hit New Jersey in September 2021.

“In the face of climate change and more frequent severe storms, DCA is finding innovative ways to encourage and support efforts to make housing stock less susceptible to flooding. The Smart Move Program is one of these creative, proactive initiatives,” said DCA Acting Commissioner Jacquelyn A. Suárez. “We also want to ensure that these new resilient, energy-efficient homes are affordable to families, especially those whose lives were upended by Hurricane Ida. We are hopeful the Smart Move Program will help advance housing resiliency endeavors both in New Jersey and nationwide.”  

“We are urging local governments that were impacted by Hurricane Ida to partner with a housing developer and apply to the Smart Move Program,” said DCA Deputy Commissioner Samuel Viavattine, who oversees the Division of Disaster Recovery and Mitigation. “Significant funding is available for housing projects that are selected. Furthermore, local governments participating in the program will be at the forefront of efforts to take an innovative approach to disaster recovery and protect residents from future catastrophic floods and other hazards.”

DCA’s Division of Disaster Recovery and Mitigation is administering the Smart Move Program, which is being funded with federal Community Development Block Grant-Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) monies from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).

Local government units such as cities, townships, and counties are eligible to apply to the program if they are located in a county designated as being most impacted and distressed by Hurricane Ida. These counties include Bergen, Essex, Gloucester, Hudson, Hunterdon, Mercer, Middlesex, Morris, Passaic, Somerset, Union, and Warren. In order to apply, local governments must be partnered with a developer on a housing development proposal. Applications will be scored competitively based on cost effectiveness, resiliency measures, and innovative housing approaches, among other factors.

The application period opened today and closes on April 4, 2024.

As part of the application process, local governments must be prepared to identify the site for the housing development, the development team, construction plans, project budget, and project schedule.

Local governments that are selected can receive up to $15 million in funding for their housing development proposal. The funding can be used for land acquisition, infrastructure development, construction, architecture and engineering, and permits, among other items. Local governments will be responsible for managing and disbursing the funds in the form of zero-interest loans to developers. Upon completion of the project, the loans will be forgiven.

As the projects are nearing completion, the program’s second phase, which focuses on homebuyer assistance, will begin. In the second phase, DCA will provide down payment assistance to participants of the State’s Blue Acres Buyout Program and first-time homebuyers to purchase homes that are developed as part of the Smart Move Program. All projects must be completed by January 2028.

Local governments can learn more about the program online. They can also email SmartMove@dca.nj.gov for more information.

People can visit https://www.nj.gov/dca/ddrm/programs/ida/index.shtml for more information on DCA’s Hurricane Ida recovery programs. All of the Ida recovery programs that DCA administers are included in New Jersey’s HUD-approved Hurricane Ida Action Plan.

People can read the Hurricane Ida Action Plan and its amendments in English and Spanish on the DCA website at https://www.nj.gov/dca/ddrm/plansreports/idaplansreports.shtml. A major goal of the Action Plan is to assist low- and moderate-income households, including minorities, people with limited English proficiency, and people with disabilities, in their recovery from Hurricane Ida. At least 70 percent of the CDBG-DR funds will benefit low- to moderate-income persons or households.

In addition to disaster recovery and mitigation, DCA offers a wide range of programs and services, including local government management and finance, affordable housing production, fire safety, building safety, community planning and development, historic preservation, and information privacy.

For more information about DCA, visit https://nj.gov/dca/ or follow the Department on social media: