Long Branch Council Approves Woodrow Wilson Apartment Ordinance

The Long Branch Council has done its part to help the Long Branch Housing Authority's secure funding to demolish and rebuild the Woodrow Wilson apartments.

The apartments, located at Wardell Place in Long Branch, are owned by the LBHA and are in need of rehabilitation. The authority knows this and is currently has an application pending with the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to demolish and rebuild and the apartments.

During Tuesday night's meeting, the Long Branch Council adopted an ordinance that will allow the LBHA to make payments in lieu of taxes, because of the fact that the project project qualifies for a tax abatement under the Long Term Tax Exemption Law. LBHA Executive Director Tyrone Garrett said this is a necessary step for the authority's application with HUD.

The authority's first payment in lieu of taxes would be about $35,000 and payments would span 30 years, with a final amount of  about $60,000, Garrett explained. He said the structure is currently being paid in lieu of taxes for about $8,500 per year.

The LBHA will also apply fax credit financing through the Housing and Mortgage Finance Agency (HMFA); the same process it is going through for the proposed plan to turn the old 

If approved, the demolition and reconstruction would be done in two phases.

The first phase would be to demolish about half of the 136 apartments that currently exist at Woodrow Wilson and build 65 new units.

The first phase would cost about $14.2 million, Garrett said.

The second phase would include the demolition of the remaining original apartments and construction of 85 new units, for a total of 150 new apartments.

The ordinance the council introduced last night, would only approved payment in lieu of taxes for the first phase of the project. Garrett said the council would have to draft another ordinance for the second phase.

Residents of Woodrow Wilson would receive relocation vouchers and would be allowed to stay "where they deem fit" during the course of the demolition. They will also be given the first opportunity to return to the new apartments once they are completed.