Earlier this month, the Garden State Episcopal Community Development Corporation (GSECDC) broke ground on a new project featuring five two-family homes that will eventually have owner-occupants and tenants. The homes, located at 34-40 Van Nostrand Avenue and 15-17 Oak Street, are being sold to eligible moderate-income buyers to facilitate increased home ownership among Jersey City residents who typically wouldn’t be able to purchase their own properties.
The project — named the Van Brunt Homes after one of GSECDC’s founders — is the sixth home ownership project undertaken by the organization. The company was able to use more than $1 million of federal money, via the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) HOME Investment Partnership Program. In addition to the HUD money, GSECDC secured a pre-development loan from the Local Initiative Support Corporation of Greater Newark and Jersey City and a nearly $1 million construction loan from TD Bank.
The properties, which had been vacant for decades, were purchased from the city and the Jersey City Redevelopment Agency. GSECDC hopes to complete construction this August.
“We are excited about continuing to provide families with the opportunity to realize the American dream of owning a home,” GSECDC executive director Carol Mori says in a statement. “The current housing market climate makes this effort that much more significant as we work to stabilize communities.”
Each two-family home is priced at $220,000, and will feature garage parking, central air/heating, backyards and other amenities.