Newark moves on $2M commitment to build 100 units of housing for homeless – NJ.com
The City of Newark has selected five developers to build 100 units of housing with supportive services for homeless residents after advertising a $2 million commitment to finance the projects.
The funding, which comes from the city’s own coffers, would ultimately save Newark more than $1 million in sheltering annually, officials previously said.
“It has long been my vision to provide our residents without addresses with decent, livable, and supportive housing, so that they can gain personal independence,” said Mayor Ras Baraka on Friday. “These partnerships will help create new opportunities for service providers, and both small and large developers, to collaborate and provide critical, transitional, and permanent supportive housing for our most vulnerable.”
The announcement on Friday comes about two months after the city held informational sessions about the program, coined “Making Housing Homes: A Housing First Initiative.” Fourteen proposals were received by the city, officials said.
The following five developers and their supportive services partners were selected:
- Monarch Housing Associates / Bridges Outreach, Inc.
- Garden State Episcopal Community Development Corporation / North Jersey Community Research Initiative (NJCRI)
- ETTA Investments LLC / Soldier ON, Urban Agriculture Cooperative, Greater Newark Conservancy, CareSparc Consulting Inc., and The Mental Health Association in New Jersey
- Domus Corporation / Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Newark
- 10th and 11th Street Homes LLC / AIDS Resource Foundation for Children (ARFC)
Those that were selected will focus on serving veterans, people with special needs, and those in the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community.
Each development is required to be completed within 18 months of the award notice, city officials previously said. The proposals were selected based on a developer’s technical ability, support services model and financial capacity.
The city said it spent $3.3 million in 2019 to shelter those who don’t qualify for county shelters.
There were 1,859 homeless people in Newark during one night in January last year during Monarch Housing’s annual point-in-time count, which accounted for 86% of Essex County’s residents without addresses. About 350 of those were not in a shelter, the study said.
The developments can either be on property the developer already has or be built on vacant city property, which the city was offering for sale at about $2 per square foot.
Newark Housing Authority was also offering up to 100 Section 8 housing vouchers for those who would reside in one of the units from the initiative, which would guarantee some rent.
City officials previously said they planned to use converted shipping containers to house the homeless during the winter months, but no further announcement has been made about its opening.
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Rebecca Panico may be reached at rpanico@njadvancemedia.com.