New Affordable Apartments Planned For Route 88 Parcel In Brick

BRICK, NJ — The Brick Township Council approved an ordinance Tuesday night that will sell a piece of property to Homes Now to create more affordable apartments in the township.

The half-acre property at 1707 Route 88, which sits across from Home Depot, was acquired by the township through a property tax foreclosure, township attorney Scott Kenneally said. It will be sold to Homes Now for $1, he said.

Homes Now, a nonprofit that has worked with Brick Township for a number of years, has multiple sites in the town, including a partnership with Dottie's House that provides transitional housing to families escaping domestic violence. It had owned the Chambers Bridge Residence for a number of years before it was sold to National Church Residences in late 2018.

The plan is for an eight-unit apartment building at the Route 88 site, Mayor Lisa Crate said, with a preference for veterans needing affordable housing. The project would help Brick meet its affordable housing requirements from the state Council on Affordable Housing.

"They are a trusted partner of the town," Kenneally said in reply to a question about Homes Now from resident Charlie Bacon.

The property would be deed-restricted for 50 years for affordable housing, and Homes Now would have to give Brick Township the right of first refusal if it decided it wanted to sell the property, Kenneally said.

The ordinance to sell the property is the first step; Kenneally said Homes Now was seeking that from the township before it spends the money on the design and the process to seek approvals through the township's Planning Board, he said.

The affordable housing will require potential tenants to meet income guidelines. While it cannot be specifically restricted to veterans under the law, there will be preference given to veterans who apply to live there, officials said.

Note: This article has been corrected to update the ownership and management of the Chambers Bridge Residence. Patch regrets the error.