Construction has started on the apartments at Garden State Park that count toward the Township affordable housing commitment.
Construction has begun on a 76-unit affordable housing apartment complex that has been planned for about 15 years in the Garden State Park residential and retail area in Cherry Hill.
The 70 one-bedroom and six two-bedroom apartments will be rented to tenants 55 years and older and be 100% affordable — part of the Township's obligation under the Fair Share housing plan.
Across Garden State Boulevard from Costco, the $24 million development is projected to be finished by February 2026, although developer and owner The Michaels Organization wants to accelerate the completion date, Jonathan Lubonski, Michaels' senior vice president of development, told 70and73.com in an interview.
Brian Bauerle, chief of staff for Cherry Hill Mayor David Fleisher, said the Garden State Park project is part of 1,500 units of affordable housing that have been built, rehabilitated or are under construction in the Township. Bauerle said the Township now is planning for future affordable housing commitments under the fourth round of Fair Share housing.
Lubonski, of Camden-based Michaels, a national development company, said his firm wants to work with Cherry Hill on future affordable housing projects.
"I think that Cherry Hill is probably one of the more forward-thinking municipalities in the state when it comes to affordable housing, and they really prioritize proper planning around it," he said.
The Garden State development is being financed through a combination of the New Jersey Housing and Mortgage Finance Agency, low-income housing tax credits and private bank lending, Lubonski said.
Park Village, the name of the new apartments, will resemble other nearby market-rate housing at Garden State.
"We don't want to differentiate between the 100% affordable apartment and the market-rate apartment," he explained.
Although the project was first approved in 2009, Michaels received amended approvals from the Township to adjust it to a four-story building from the original five-story one.
Five of the units are reserved for the homeless or special-needs populations. The rest will rent to tenants with a variety of income levels, including those with incomes 30%, 50% or 60%Â below the Area Median Income.
Amenities include a community room with warming kitchen for gatherings, a fitness center and laundry rooms on every other floor.
Michaels will continue to own and manage the property and applications will be accepted as its completion nears, Lubonski said.Â
