U.S. Rep. Bill Pascrell, Jr. (D-NJ-8) today joined federal, state and city officials on Monday at a groundbreaking ceremony for the Belmont Senior Apartments project at Belmont Avenue and Cliff Street. The start of this affordable housing project that will provide 85 units for seniors was made possible this through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, which Rep. Pascrell helped craft.

“As Americans, we have an obligation to take care of our seniors, who have worked so hard and paid their dues over generations,” said Pascrell, a member of the House Ways and Means Committee who voted in support of the federal stimulus last February.  “
“Projects like the Belmont Apartments are exactly what we had in mind when we designed a stimulus package to deal with the worst economic crisis this country had seen since the Great Depression. This project will not only create good, well paying jobs right here in Paterson, over 500 in construction alone, but will also make a critical investment in this city’s public housing that will benefit Paterson’s seniors for years to come.”

The Belmont Apartments will be a newly constructed four-story building containing 85 rental units that will serve the senior population, of which 81 units (720 sq. ft. per unit) will be one-bedroom, and 4 units (1,047 sq. ft. per unit) will be two-bedroom. Building amenities include 50 onsite parking spaces, an outdoor pavilion, and a sitting area for the residents and a community room with a full kitchen.  There are two accessible elevators, one of which accommodates a stretcher in the full horizontal position.  The construction period is expected to be 16 months from the date of closing. 

Development of this site will clean up and stabilize a formerly vacant, abandoned, underutilized and environmentally-contaminated site. This project is anticipated to create approximately 40-50 full-time jobs in security, management, etc during the construction period.  During construction, the project will impact 500 people in terms of construction, suppliers, etc.   Once the construction is complete, approximately 10-15 will be employed full-time as a result of this project.

The project is being financed, in part, from several federal sources, including the Tax Credit Assistance Program (TCAP) and Tax Credit Exchange Program funding that was included in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act and HUD Replacement Housing dollars.  To total federal commitment to the project is $14,482,126, with $8,947,126 coming from the economic stimulus package.

Financing information:
HMFA Funding (mortgage):            $2,799,000
TCAP:                                          $3,135,000
HUD Replacement Housing:            $4,735,000
Tax Credit Exchange Funds:           $5,812,126
Tax Credit Equity:                          $7,028,997
NJ Energy Star Solar Rebate:  $   330,000
PHA HOME Funds:    $  800,000  
TOTAL Investment:                   $24,640,123

###