BY SUE M. MORGAN
Staff Writer
OLD BRIDGE — Though desired by township officials, affordable housing for independently disabled persons is on the back burner until an approved site plan is in place.
Four resolutions that would have allowed developer Pennrose Properties, Inc. to apply to various state housing agencies for tax credits were tabled by the Township Council Monday night, pending the Zoning Board of Adjustment’s preliminary approval of a site plan for a proposed 66-unit apartment complex for disabled persons.
The preliminary plan would have had to have been approved by the Zoning Board by April 15 in order for Pennrose, a builder specializing in the construction of special needs and senior housing, to be considered eligible for 9 percent in tax credits, according to township Housing Authority Chairwoman Mary Ann Gurliaccio.
With Philadelphia-based Pennrose’s financing, the Housing Authority is sponsoring the construction of the proposed housing on land it owns at Route 18 and Ferry Road.
The individual units of the complex would be designed with amenities to assist disabled people who are able to live on their own, Gurliaccio said.
With New Jersey’s deadline to apply for tax credits less than a month away, Pennrose asked the council to put the four resolutions on hold until after its application for the complex is approved by the Zoning Board, Township Attorney Jerome Convery said.
"The developer seeking these resolutions has indicated that he cannot meet the deadline for funding," Convery said. "It’s not right for the council to vote on it now."
The resolutions would have authorized Pennrose to apply for tax credits from the Balanced Housing Home Express Program administered by the state Department of Community Affairs (DCA) and to the New Jersey Housing Mortgage Finance Agency (NJHMFA).
Plans for the complex should still go forward sooner rather than later, according to Ward 4 Councilman G. Kevin Calogera.
"It’s something we need in this town," Calogera said. "We need to consider putting this back on [the agenda] in the future."
Old Bridge will continue to pursue the housing regardless of how long it takes, according to Mayor Jim Phillips.
Phillips served as Housing Authority commissioner prior to taking his current office in January. The Middlesex County Board of Chosen Freeholders has already committed itself to helping Pennrose pay for the construction, said Phillips, who works full time as county treasurer.
The township might have to wait until September to ask the DCA and other agencies for the tax credits, given the state’s deadlines for application, Phillips explained.
However, because several months might pass before Pennrose and the Housing Authority receive preliminary site plan approval from the Zoning Board, the township may have to instead wait 12 months to apply to the state for the credits.
In the meantime, the Housing Authority will meet tonight to discuss plans to move forward with the project, Gurliaccio said.
The authority and Pennrose may need variances for the proposed four-story building’s height and other aspects of the application, she acknowledged.
In addition, the authority wants to be ensure that the public has a chance to be heard on the application.
"We don’t want to rush this project. We want to make sure everything is absolutely correct," Gurliaccio said.
To date, local residents have expressed support for the housing complex, Gurliaccio noted. Some members of the disabled community have even asked how about living there.
"This is not a group home. We’re doing individual apartment units where people can live independently," she said.
The complex would be located between Maher Manor, an affordable senior-housing building now under construction, and Raritan Bay Medical Center’s Old Bridge division.
On Feb. 22, the council agreed to lift the deed restrictions on the 5-acre Barsel Parcel located near the Housing Authority property in order to use the land for the complex.