After more than a dozen years in the works, the final pieces have been put in place for the redevelopment of the former A. Harry Moore public housing complex in Jersey City, N.J.
The fourth phase of the Gloria Robinson Court Homes, completed by Pennrose Properties and the Jersey City Housing Authority in July 2016, adds 70 mixed-income units and a Jersey City Head Start facility to the reborn community.
“As many final phases are, it’s the capstone to the redevelopment,” says Tim Henkel, senior vice president at Pennrose. “It’s a capstone in a very exciting way. It brings in the nonresidential use.”
According to Henkel, since the redevelopment was part of the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s HOPE VI program, an emphasis was placed on early childhood education.
Administered by the Greater Bergen Community Action, the new 11-classroom facility consolidates some of the area’s older and smaller Head Starts. It offers early-childhood and preschool programming to residents and the children of the neighborhood.
The final phase also offers housing to a diverse group of households, with low-income housing tax credit (LIHTC), project-based voucher, public housing replacement, and special-needs units.
“We have two webs of diversity—income and ethnic diversity that really creates a healthy environment,” says Henkel.
The fourth phase added additional management offices, conference rooms, and a new community facility providing residents with a large public gathering space, a fitness facility, a full kitchen, and on-site laundry services.
The $25.1 million development includes a mix of city, state, and federal funds, including LIHTCs and Superstorm Sandy Community Development Block Grant-Disaster Recovery funds from the New Jersey Housing and Mortgage Finance Agency. Bank of America Merrill Lynch provided the tax credit equity. In addition, New Jersey Community Capital and Enterprise Community Partners were vital partners on the Head Start component.
