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Officials Excited About New Senior Housing Facility
Whiting Construction Would Provide Affordable Units For Seniors
By Keith Hagarty
Township officials are calling it a great opportunity.
"It" is the agreement recently approved by the township council to bring an 84-unit senior housing project to Whiting. The long-discussed agreement is in partnership with a nonprofit agency and would provide affordable housing for seniors.
Now known as PHS Senior Living, the Princeton-based company, previously known as Presbyterian Homes & Services, INC., plans to build an affordable housing apartment building for low and moderate income seniors on Hilltop Road, near Route 70.
"This is a project that we've been embracing for some time, and we hope it will be successful," said township business administrator Connie Lauffer.
The council's final adoption of a tax-abatement ordinance last week authorizes a 40-year agreement between the town and PHS Senior Living. Under the agreement, rather than standard property taxes, the developer would pay the township a fee of 15 percent of the occupants' rent. Such an agreement is called Payment In Lieu Of Taxes, or a PILOT program.
Additional resolutions approved by the council agree to commit $736,250 from the town's affordable housing trust fund to be paid to PHS Senior Living upon closing, while another recently adopted resolution grants PHS Senior Living's request to the town for a 50 percent reduction in water and sewer connection fees for the project, resulting in an overall savings to the developer of $111,930.
PHS Senior Living has been working closely with the Manchester governing body to meet the requirements to procure support for grant funding from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's (HUD), as part of the federal Section 202 program, according to Larry Gumina, PHS Senior Living's vice president of affordable housing and assisted living operations.
A decision on whether the project will or will not receive federal money is expected to be announced by HUD by November, said Heather Hill, senior project manager for PHS Senior Living.
With 15 comparable affordable housing senior communities throughout New Jersey built by PHS Senior Living, a lottery process would be used for would-be tenants.
To get the word out and encourage local tenants to apply for residence in the facility, the company plans to work closely with Manchester's senior service program.
"We'll advertise locally," said Hill. "So we'll be in all the newspapers, and we can attract some of the senior outreach community."
Retaining a large portion of local residents for the 84 rental one-bedroom apartments is always desirable for such communities, according Gumina.
"We'll accept applications from all over the country," said Gumina. "But in our other 15 communities (in New Jersey) approximately 85 to 90 percent reside in the area already."
Such an affordable housing option would certainly be in high demand, according to Lauffer.
"It's 84 units, but that's really not a lot," said Lauffer. "The demand is tremendous."
A similar 84-unit affordable housing project in Stafford Township by PHS Senior Living initially generated over 240 qualified applications from potential tenants, with a current 1-1/2 to two-year waiting list for available units.
"It's a great opportunity for people who aren't really able to afford where they live now and are living beyond their means," said Hill. "It's going to be a great project."
Board President Kenneth Vanderziel agrees, saying he's eager to see the project get underway, and is hopeful the township's support will help the company attain the necessary funding.
"This particular project is a great benefit
to the township in regards to our affordable
housing requirements," said Vanderziel. "We're happy to be involved … it's a long
time coming."
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