Post by Freehold Resident on Dec 7, 2006 16:33:03 GMT -5
For Additional Information Contact:
John Patella, DCA, (609) 292-6055
Amanda Sacco, HMFA, (609) 278-7517
Former Freehold Rug Mill Reopens As Affordable Apartments
Acting Governor Donald T. DiFrancesco today announced the grand opening of a former rug mill near downtown Freehold as a 202-unit affordable apartment complex.
“The renovation of this former rug mill into an apartment complex is helping to build a stronger Freehold,” Acting Governor DiFrancesco said. “This mill once provided steady jobs. Today it resumes its useful life by becoming a great place to call home.”
The New Jersey Department of Community Affairs (DCA) and its affiliated New Jersey Housing and Mortgage Finance Agency (HMFA) were major financiers of the project, which actually consists of two projects in one building: Rug Mill Families, with 104 affordable rental units; and Rug Mill Seniors, a 98-unit section of the building offering affordable apartments for senior citizens.
“Nearly forty years after the looms were packed up and hauled away, the rug mill is a working building once again,” said Department of Community Affairs Commissioner Jane M. Kenny. “This building is once again going to be at the heart of life in Freehold Borough.”
The building, located on Jackson Street, also features extensive commercial space on the ground floor. That space will contain the Freehold Borough Police Station, the Freehold Borough Municipal Court as well as a YMCA teen center.
The former A&M Karagheusian Rug Mill operated approximately 60 years before closing in the early 1960s. It was once a major employer in the Freehold area. Among its many workers was the father of famed Freehold native Bruce Springsteen. Bruce Springsteen himself immortalized the mill’s closing in the song, “My Hometown.”
In 1998, officials of the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs and the New Jersey Housing and Mortgage Finance Agency approved plans by private developer North County Conservancy Inc. of Clinton, New Jersey, to convert the building into affordable residences.
DCA contributed approximately $4.5 million in low interest loans from its Balanced Housing Program, a state program that provides funding to developers who build affordable housing. HMFA provided a mortgage of approximately $3 million, and an award of $1.9 million in federal Low Income Tax Credits.
Balanced Housing funds are derived from a dedicated portion of the state’s Realty Transfer Fee, a tax on all real estate transactions. The Low Income Housing Tax Credit Program provides federal tax incentives to encourage the construction of rental housing for low-income households.
“HMFA is proud to finance projects that adapt buildings from New Jersey’s past into viable housing for the future,” said HMFA Executive Director Deborah De Santis. “The Rug Mill development provides an affordable option to seniors and families in the Freehold community.”
Additional financing for the $30 million rehabilitation came from Freehold Borough and private equity.
Rents at the Rug Mill Families section of the building range from $500 per month for a one-bedroom apartment to $700 per month for a three-bedroom apartment. Rents at Rug Mill Seniors range from $470 to $570.
To live in either Rug Mill Families or Rug Mill Seniors residents must earn less than 50 percent of the area median income. The income limit for a single individual, for example, is $21,426 a year, while the limit for a family of four is $33,466 per year.
John Patella, DCA, (609) 292-6055
Amanda Sacco, HMFA, (609) 278-7517
Former Freehold Rug Mill Reopens As Affordable Apartments
Acting Governor Donald T. DiFrancesco today announced the grand opening of a former rug mill near downtown Freehold as a 202-unit affordable apartment complex.
“The renovation of this former rug mill into an apartment complex is helping to build a stronger Freehold,” Acting Governor DiFrancesco said. “This mill once provided steady jobs. Today it resumes its useful life by becoming a great place to call home.”
The New Jersey Department of Community Affairs (DCA) and its affiliated New Jersey Housing and Mortgage Finance Agency (HMFA) were major financiers of the project, which actually consists of two projects in one building: Rug Mill Families, with 104 affordable rental units; and Rug Mill Seniors, a 98-unit section of the building offering affordable apartments for senior citizens.
“Nearly forty years after the looms were packed up and hauled away, the rug mill is a working building once again,” said Department of Community Affairs Commissioner Jane M. Kenny. “This building is once again going to be at the heart of life in Freehold Borough.”
The building, located on Jackson Street, also features extensive commercial space on the ground floor. That space will contain the Freehold Borough Police Station, the Freehold Borough Municipal Court as well as a YMCA teen center.
The former A&M Karagheusian Rug Mill operated approximately 60 years before closing in the early 1960s. It was once a major employer in the Freehold area. Among its many workers was the father of famed Freehold native Bruce Springsteen. Bruce Springsteen himself immortalized the mill’s closing in the song, “My Hometown.”
In 1998, officials of the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs and the New Jersey Housing and Mortgage Finance Agency approved plans by private developer North County Conservancy Inc. of Clinton, New Jersey, to convert the building into affordable residences.
DCA contributed approximately $4.5 million in low interest loans from its Balanced Housing Program, a state program that provides funding to developers who build affordable housing. HMFA provided a mortgage of approximately $3 million, and an award of $1.9 million in federal Low Income Tax Credits.
Balanced Housing funds are derived from a dedicated portion of the state’s Realty Transfer Fee, a tax on all real estate transactions. The Low Income Housing Tax Credit Program provides federal tax incentives to encourage the construction of rental housing for low-income households.
“HMFA is proud to finance projects that adapt buildings from New Jersey’s past into viable housing for the future,” said HMFA Executive Director Deborah De Santis. “The Rug Mill development provides an affordable option to seniors and families in the Freehold community.”
Additional financing for the $30 million rehabilitation came from Freehold Borough and private equity.
Rents at the Rug Mill Families section of the building range from $500 per month for a one-bedroom apartment to $700 per month for a three-bedroom apartment. Rents at Rug Mill Seniors range from $470 to $570.
To live in either Rug Mill Families or Rug Mill Seniors residents must earn less than 50 percent of the area median income. The income limit for a single individual, for example, is $21,426 a year, while the limit for a family of four is $33,466 per year.