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The demolition of Boston Way is now underway.  

The $28 million project marks more than the redevelopment of a long vacant Asbury Park Housing Authority [APHA] complex, but also the start of revitalization in the southwest neighborhood and control of its destiny moving forward, officials said. The redevelopment features 21 one-bedroom, 62 two-bedroom, and 21 three-bedroom units. Asbury Park Interim Housing Authority Director Tyrone Garrett said the units will be mixed income rentals.

The project received a $14.6 million in New Jersey Housing and Mortgage Finance Agency funding in Sept 2016 and $12.3 million Sandy Recovery funding through the Fund for Restoration of Multifamily Housing, DCA spokeswoman Lisa Ryan said.

After months of hard fought negotiation with its developers, Jersey City-based Metro Company and Fort Lee-based Alpert Group, phase one of the project now moves forward with asbestos removal, Board of Commissioners Chairman Gregory Hopson said.

“Two many folks on the other side of this issue greatly discounted the integrity of the majority of the members of this Board of Commissioners,” APHA Chief of Staff Daniel Gibson Jr said. There was no amount of money that you can offer to get us to sell out the residents of this community. It’s not going to happen.”

It also marks a trajectory toward becoming a self-sustaining entity.

Executive Director Tyrone Garrett said during his presentation before the Governor’s Conference on Housing a year ago, he publicly set the goal that Housing Authorities under his governance would be taking a different approach to redevelopment.

“We are going to look toward self-sufficiency,” Garrett said.

“We were in the tubes in 2012/13 [when Garrett came on board],” Vice Chairman Frank Syphax said. “When you have someone with that type of experience who worked to get you out of debt and then is able to move you forward into another direction, that the people you have to look to.”

Hopson said prior to Garrett’s involvement, the APHA had no goals of heading its own development projects.

“We had no thought, no dream, not even an inkling of possibly doing some development,” Hopson said. “Since that time APHA now has its own CDC and are very close to being developers. The goal for Asbury prior to then was just keep your head a float, just hold on until times get better.”

Today, the local authority has launched a nonprofit arm that it hopes will spearhead development projects in the city. A part of their goal is to provide quality housing and employment for APHA residents, those who live in the city, and then for those who live in Monmouth County, Gibson said.

“We’ll get all the workers we need,” he said. “That goes for subcontractors, that goes for vendors located in this town. We are going to put men and women to work in this town. Our crime rate in Long Branch went down precipitously when we started redevelopment.”

Thus far, 54 men and one woman has been signed up for employment.

“These were a combination of gentlemen who want to work as laborer, electricians, carpenters, plumbers or subcontractors,” Gibson said.

Garrett said a big part of the employment plan is to determine the best path to long term employment.

“For example, I don’t look at Boston Way as being a single project,” Garrett said. “I see it as leverage for something else we’d like to do, like Lincoln Village and the Choice Neighborhood initiative, where we can possibly put in more of a training component that people might be looking for.”

Gibson said not only is the launch of Lincoln Village’s redevelopment, made possible through the ongoing Choice Neighborhood Planning Grant, expected to begin in 2018 but renovation of the its senior building is slated for the first quarter of the new year.  

“Now, it is about leveraging the successes,” Garrett said.

This comes less than five years after the entity was struggling to work its way out of the red.

The final agreement with the two contracted developers include the following:

The Housing Authority $700,000 loan to project will be repayable within a 30 year period, with 1 percent compounded interest.

In 15 years, the APHA will have the opportunity to buy control back from the two developers at a nominal cost.

Management and maintenance will be administered by the APHA.

All project discussions moving forward must be done in a 50/50 partnership.

“We made it clear that we have a vested interest and want to be knowledgeable on everything,” Garrett said. “At the end of the day, we are ready to hit the ground running with positive initiatives.”

Housing Authority buildings include Dr. Robinson Towers, Lumley Homes, Comstock Court, Asbury Park Village, Washington Village, and Lincoln Village.

Project details include:

One phase construction of the 104 home complex.

Seven buildings will be adorned with three colors to create visual interest

Each unit will have its own laundry and entry

There will be 11 fully ADA accessible homes

A combined community room, management and maintenance office at the southwest portion of the site.

Six foot wide walkways throughout the site with internal parking spaces.

All units and walkways will be designed for ADA accessibility.

24 additional trees will be planted as well as foundation plantings

Internal 15 foot high lighting fixtures will be spaced 70 feet apart.

Underground storm water management system

Parapet walls and flat roofs will allow for visual screening of air conditioning equipment

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