OLD BRIDGE – Twelve new affordable homes are set to be built with the help of state funding.
Greater Middlesex & Morris Habitat for Humanity (GMM Habitat) will receive $2,122,490 from the NJ Affordable Housing Trust Fund (NJAHTF) to support the project in the Laurence Harbor section of the township.
The homes will be designated for low- and moderate-income households and sold well below market value.
"We are grateful to state leaders for this funding and their commitment to making housing affordable to its residents,” stated Liz DeCoursey, chief executive of GMM Habitat. "However, the NJAHTF needs to be fully restored by the Legislature. Without these critical state funds, our projects could be delayed years until enough funds are raised through other fundraising efforts."
The development will consist of six two-family homes, offering a mix of one- and four-bedroom units and two- and three-bedroom units.
This is the ninth grant GMM Habitat has received from the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs (NJDCA), bringing its total state funding to more than $7.4 million.
This support has already helped build 41 affordable homes.
The NJAHTF faced a significant funding shortfall last year, after $125 million was diverted from the fund and only $35 million restored, with an additional $10 million earmarked for Habitat for Humanity projects.
The $2.1 million awarded for the Laurence Harbor homes comes from that allocation.
"We are grateful to the NJDCA commissioner and staff who oversee this funding for their swift actions to fairly evaluate and award the $45 million in funding," DeCoursey stated. "They were put in a challenging position by the drastic budget cut to the NJAHTF and then acted quickly when the $45 million in partial funding was restored."
Housing advocates are urging state leaders to return the NJAHTF to its original $150 million level, funded through the expanded mansion tax.
According to the Housing and Community Development Network of New Jersey, the expanded mansion tax is projected to generate more than $300 million annually, though none of it is currently allocated to affordable housing.
"This is not just disappointing, it’s a missed opportunity to address the growing housing crisis in New Jersey and we are now urging Gov.-elect Sherrill to fully restore funding to the NJAHTF by allocating a portion of the mansion tax revenue," DeCoursey stated.
GMM Habitat routinely partners with municipalities that donate land or provide funding from municipal housing trust funds. Homes built through these partnerships carry 30-year affordability deed restrictions and count towards the municipality’s Fair Share Plan.
GMM Habitat, now in its 40th year, serves 68 municipalities across Morris and Middlesex counties and the greater Plainfield area.
The organization has supported 1,100 families by building more than 200 homes, preserving more than 550 homes for low-income homeowners and seniors, and helping 400 families with housing solutions worldwide.
To date GMM Habitat has engaged more than 150,000 volunteers and operates a ReStore outlet in Randolph, which has funded 42 homes and diverted 21,772 tons of materials from landfills since 2007.
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This story was created by reporter Brad Wadlow, [email protected], with the assistance of Artificial Intelligence (AI). Journalists were involved in every step of the information gathering, review, editing and publishing process. .
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