Developers: ‘We’re in Irvington for the long haul’
By Chris Sykes, Staff Writer
A few weeks ago the township and its partners in redevelopment, Brand New Day Inc., broke ground on a new housing project in the East Ward that should bring 13 new single family homes to Irvington’s East Ward.
At the time, Mayor Wayne Smith said the project was a continuation of his administration’s ongoing efforts to breathe new financial and social life into the township’s seemingly perpetually blighted ward. Brand New Day is the primary developer of the project at the corner of Nelson Place and 21st Street that will be known as Nelson Estates.
“This the first Neighborhood Stabilization project we’re doing as part of President Obama’s economic stimulus money,“ Smith said. “We would like to thank Brand New Day for the 13 single houses that will be sold to income eligible first-time buyers and Brand New Day will be qualifying people. The homes will be deeply discounted and some people might be getting them for as little as $45,000.”
The Elizabeth-based organization and social service agency has contracted Brian McCarthy to do the work of actually building the new homes. Representatives of Brand New Day said the Feb. 17 groundbreaking is the start of really big things for the organization and their partner, Irvington township.
“We’re developers and this project is going to consist of 11 four-bedroom, three-family homes in a three-block area,” said Anthony Buonpane, the project developer at Brand New Day. “They’re going to be Energy Star certified and we‘re going to sell them for between $104,500 and $150,000. We’re going to sell the homes based on the buyers’ income — 28 percent of that income — because we believe that no more than that should go for housing costs, and we‘re going to price it that way.”
Buonpane said that pricing the new homes so that they will be affordable to first-time low-income buyers is one of the keys to the entire Nelson Place project.
“We’re going to subsidize the homes in the first place, but we’re also going to have a homebuyer assistance program to sell these homes so the families can afford them at no more than 28 percent of their income,” he said. “We were awarded $2 million from the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs from the Neighborhood Stabilization Program funds that came from President Barack Obama‘s economic stimulus bill. We had to apply for the funding and the township awarded us $550,000 H.O.M.E. Investment Partnership Funds from the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development through the township.”
According to Buonpane, the Nelson Estates project is the first housing project that Brand New Day has “done this way.” He said the difference between what the organization is doing in Irvington and their other successful projects in Elizabeth is that they have a redevelopment agreement with the township.
A few weeks ago the township and its partners in redevelopment, Brand New Day Inc., broke ground on a new housing project in the East Ward that should bring 13 new single family homes to Irvington’s East Ward.
At the time, Mayor Wayne Smith said the project was a continuation of his administration’s ongoing efforts to breathe new financial and social life into the township’s seemingly perpetually blighted ward. Brand New Day is the primary developer of the project at the corner of Nelson Place and 21st Street that will be known as Nelson Estates.
“This the first Neighborhood Stabilization project we’re doing as part of President Obama’s economic stimulus money,“ Smith said. “We would like to thank Brand New Day for the 13 single houses that will be sold to income eligible first-time buyers and Brand New Day will be qualifying people. The homes will be deeply discounted and some people might be getting them for as little as $45,000.”
The Elizabeth-based organization and social service agency has contracted Brian McCarthy to do the work of actually building the new homes. Representatives of Brand New Day said the Feb. 17 groundbreaking is the start of really big things for the organization and their partner, Irvington township.
“We’re developers and this project is going to consist of 11 four-bedroom, three-family homes in a three-block area,” said Anthony Buonpane, the project developer at Brand New Day. “They’re going to be Energy Star certified and we‘re going to sell them for between $104,500 and $150,000. We’re going to sell the homes based on the buyers’ income — 28 percent of that income — because we believe that no more than that should go for housing costs, and we‘re going to price it that way.”
Buonpane said that pricing the new homes so that they will be affordable to first-time low-income buyers is one of the keys to the entire Nelson Place project.
“We’re going to subsidize the homes in the first place, but we’re also going to have a homebuyer assistance program to sell these homes so the families can afford them at no more than 28 percent of their income,” he said. “We were awarded $2 million from the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs from the Neighborhood Stabilization Program funds that came from President Barack Obama‘s economic stimulus bill. We had to apply for the funding and the township awarded us $550,000 H.O.M.E. Investment Partnership Funds from the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development through the township.”
According to Buonpane, the Nelson Estates project is the first housing project that Brand New Day has “done this way.” He said the difference between what the organization is doing in Irvington and their other successful projects in Elizabeth is that they have a redevelopment agreement with the township.
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