Affordable Housing Built at Former Woodbridge Gardens Site

WOODBRIDGE, NJ - Groundbreaking started Friday on Jacob’s Landing, the new affordable housing block on the site of the former Woodbridge Gardens public housing complex on Bunns Lane. Phase 1 of Jacob’s Landing is slated to be completed by the fall of 2018, and tenants will move in shortly thereafter. Ingerman is the developer.

No taxpayer funds will be used to construct Jacob’s Landing. The entire Phase 1 project is funded through federal and state grants, housing development programs and private investment, Woodbridge Mayor John McCormac said. It will cost $24 million to construct. Financing for the project is provided through a combination of equity from the syndication of the Low Income Housing Tax Credits from the New Jersey Housing and Mortgage Finance Agency, transferred reserves from the Woodbridge Housing Authority, an Affordable Housing Trust Fund contribution from the Woodbridge Affordable Housing Corporation and a permanent mortgage from the NJHMFA.

“Today’s groundbreaking represents yet another milestone toward achieving our goal of ensuring that Woodbridge Township residents have access to quality residential options that allow them to affordably continue to live in the Woodbridge community,” Mayor McCormac said. “Jacob’s Landing Phase 1 construction will transform the 64-year-old Woodbridge Garden Apartments into a vibrant new community of 84 units of affordable residential housing."

Phase 1 will be comprised of 18 one-bedroom, 42 two-bedroom, 21 three-bedroom, and 3 four-bedroom apartments within seven three-story buildings. The community will offer residents parking, community space and social services, including mental health counseling, substance abuse programs and medical and legal advocacy services.

“I first met Mayor McCormac roughly 15 years ago when he was the Woodbridge Township Business Administrator. At that time, he told me that his number one priority for redevelopment in Woodbridge was to redevelop the Bunns Lane public housing complex. Well, it has taken longer than I would have preferred to get to this day, but no one can say that we gave up on our goal,” said Bruce Morgan, President, BCM Affordable Housing. “Today is the start of great things to come for the residents of Jacobs Landing and I could not be happier to finally see this project come to fruition.”