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Heritage Village Senior Building Opens in Elizabeth

ELIZABETH -- Mayor Chris Bollwage and the Housing Authority of the City of Elizabeth hosted a ribbon cutting ceremony in celebration of the recently completed Heritage Village Senior Residential rental community. The senior building is the first of its kind in Elizabethport and was built as a part of the City’s HOPE VI revitalization program.

“HOPE VI has been a very successful program that has provided members of our community with housing opportunities that are instrumental in ending a dependency on public housing,” said Mayor Bollwage. “With the help of the HOPE VI program and the commitment of our dedicated partners, we have created a place where our seniors can continue to live comfortably in the neighborhood where they feel at home.”

The four-story Heritage Village is an affordable residential rental community for adults 65 years or older, located on the corner of Pine and Second Streets. The site was formerly a part of the Pioneer Homes Public Housing Complex and is adjacent to the Portside II family rental development. The building consists of 76 one-bedroom apartments and 11 two-bedroom apartments. Of these 46 are public housing units and 41 are tax credit units. Each apartment will be between 675 and 950 square feet in size. Rents are expected to range from approximately $625 to $750 per month, while the public housing rents are based on 30 percent of the resident’s monthly income.

All apartments are handicapped ready with individual heat and central air-conditioning. Units also have wall-to-wall carpeting, ceramic tile in the bathrooms, and walk-in closets in the master bedroom. Heritage Village has an on-site management office with security as well as on-site parking, community room with kitchen, social lounges on each floor, a wellness room, library, laundry facilities on each floor, and a front patio. The site location provides the seniors with easy accessibility to shopping and major sources of transportation.

“The Housing Authority is extremely proud of this facility since it is the first all senior building in Elizabethport,” said William D. Jones, Executive Director of the Elizabeth Housing Authority. “The complex provides affordable rents, with a strong sense of community living.”

The $12 million project was developed and is owned by Community Investment Strategies, Inc. Funding for the project was provided through Federal Low Income Tax Credits, a construction loan from the New Jersey Housing and Mortgage Finance Agency, HOPE VI funding, the Union County HOME Program, and Tax Credit Syndicator Boston Capital. The City of Elizabeth and the Housing Authority have also been working with the Elizabeth Development Company and the County of Union as community partners for the project.