Walters To Begin Building Affordable Housing Units This Week

Walters Development Corp., a Barnegat-based residential developer, announced that construction is all set to start sometime this week on the affordable apartments on Rose Hill Road, between Route 9 and Barnegat Boulevard. Owner Ed Walters did not specify the date, but said the site has been cleared and is ready to go.

“Pretty much all of the site’s work is done with the exception of curbing and paving,” Walters said.

The affordable housing component of the 211-lot development will consist of six two-story and one one-story buildings, featuring 52 apartments with one, two or three bedrooms.

Walters said he hopes to have the units ready by this fall. As with other Walters Development projects, the condominiums will be Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED)-certified by the U.S. Green Building Council, which will result in energy savings for the residents, Walters said.

“Barnegat has an obligation to provide affordable housing consistent with state law,” Township Administrator David Breeden said. “So we don’t have a choice, we have to do it, it’s the state mandate. In our opinion this happens to be a very suitable location. It’s very close to New Jersey Transit buses, walking distance from downtown and shopping center.”

“We are doing what we can to meet our obligations for the affordable housing,” said Committeeman Jeffrey Melchiondo, even though he may not have even been on the board, he added, when those final approvals took place.

“Oftentimes, the developer will attempt to make those units look the same [as regular housing.] There is a misnomer out there that all [Council on Affordable Housing, COAH] units is just Section Eight-type housing, but it isn’t like that at all. They are there for people who are downsizing, or maybe younger couples who just got married, whose income qualifies them to live in these homes.”

The Barnegat Township Planning Board granted Walters Development the final approvals for the entire Whispering Hills project in January 2008. The affordable housing units will complete Phase 1 of the entire development project, which also features 107 townhouses and two open-space lots. Phases 2 and 3 will add another 99 single-family homes altogether.