PHOTOS & VIDEO [UPDATED 12:15PM] Township officials, NJ HAND, NJ STEPS/Homes for All, the Lakewood Affordable Housing Corporation, and New Jersey American Water Company took part in a groundbreaking ceremony this morning to celebrate the installation of a sewer line, to allow the completion of the NJ Hand property for affordable housing. The project could result in a couple of hundred more affordable housing units and the construction projects of the other developers, the Affordable Housing Corporation, STEPS/ Homes for All.
In Phase I, 72 NJ Hand units of the affordable housing were built. In Phase II, now in construction, about 58 units are being built; however, after the construction of phases I and II, no more units will be able to be built unless a sewer line is installed.
Committeeman Steven Langert as former mayor and Steve Reinman, director of economic development, have been working closely with New Jersey American Water Company to move the project forward into a new phase of development. They established a planning committee to study the infrastructure and to work closely with New Jersey American Water to overcome obstacles keeping the project from moving forward.
Without the sewer, the only option would be the construction of a $3 million pump station, for which affordable housing did not have the money. Putting in the sewer line, without a pump station, means affordable housing needs only a fraction of the money a pumping station would have cost AND they are able to move ahead with their project.
In addition, consumers will not have to pay as much as in the case of most residential development where the developer puts in the sewer and then the water company reimburses them for the cost, which is then passed on to rate payers or all consumers. In this instance, affordable housing officials and the township are contributing a portion of the cost of this project. Because the water company is not paying for that portion, they will not be able to build it into the rate case. This means the consumer will never pay for the portion paid for by the town and affordable housing.
A lottery will determine who is eligable for the housing units. TLS.
whoever heard of a groundbreaking ceremony for a SEWER LINE ?!?!?!
Why was Greg S. at this ceremony? what is his part in all of this work?
the taw cows are paying for it.
who ever heard of digging the entire block (or actually more than an entire block) and not being able to get in and/or out with packages, children, etc. I just wonder what would be if this was going on in front of the government officials houses.
who is the builder for these units?
only in lakewood! an event for every move!
including sewer pipes!!
hey I didnt see who catered the food 🙂
They had food, I should of went.!!!!!
it’ll be interesting to see who “wins” this lottery and who will be moving into these units…
I don’t understand how this is saving tax payers money, or rate payers money. The fact that NJAWC would have raised the rates, is simply not true. They can not raise the rates specifically for Lakewood. They would need to raise it statewide, and they would need to get approval from the state.
The fact of the matter is that this is a very negligible amount considering NJWAC revenues in the state, and would not have been significant enough to provide cause to raise the rates.
Rather there seems to be an error in this report. NJAWC is not required to accommodate developers and increase the infrastructure. Rather it is the developers responsibility. So the cost of this project should have been born by NJ Hand. Instead it was “split’ between NJ Hand and the Lakewood Taxpayers.
TLS Please do a little more research before you post things
anyone know who the builder is. I’m considering going into the raffle and this info would be helpful. thank you.
I live in the neighborhood – this used to be such a nice area….who needs more housing? traffic is nuts – imagine when all thse ppl move in? guarantee you my water and tax bills will stay the same or get higher…
why does every piece of land need to be built up with more townhouses and ruin the peace and tranquility of a residential area???
I too live in this neighborhood, and unfortunately you are right a once peaceful neighborhood has been ruined. Originally the idea of 400 affordable homes sounded like a good thing for the Tzibur, so one can overlook the personal inconvenience. Aside for the people who purchased the homes, I thought it may even lower prices on other homes and make it more affordable for everyone.
However, given the fact that this has been spread over such a long period of time the effect on housing has been non existent. This has ended up helping relatively very few people and very likely negatively impacted just as many if not more.
It does seem that any negative comments about this project are not posted (like others I have left) It seems like TLS wants to protect the interest of the Tzibur. What they may or may not realize is that there are thousands of people affected by this project and it is not necessarily in the interest of the Tzibbur.
To “Fuzzy Math”- actually it’s you who needs to do more research before posting your comments. The fact is that the cost IS being borne by njhand. the township has been working with nj american water to look forward several years and improve/ expand their sewer infrastructure now rather than have it done piece meal each time they run out of capacity and have pumping stations scattered through town as they’ve been doing till now. That part is being paid for by NJAW and the town, with any developers who hook into the new sewer in the future reimbursing the town for their share of benefit. Once this was being done the town then realized that by moving over the sewer pipe a short distance to vine they could solve an expensive problem that all three non profit developers were having with a sewer pumping station for less money than the developers thought they’d have to come up with. The fact is that njhand and the other non profits ARE paying for their share of extending the pipe out of their pockets, and NOT the taxpayer.
if the town put money towards this project, it means I paid for part of it as a taxpayer and I am not getting any benefit from it at all, and probaly will pay more in taxes for the additional police, fire, ems, public works, and schools costs, etc.
Will be home for singles ?
the last 2 project was not for sale for singles persons?
To Not So Fast. you must be one of the few that are benefiting from this project. Not one of the many, that are burdened by it. You admitted that the article was incorrect, and that the fees would not have passed on to rate payers.
You also admit that some of the costs was paid for by Lakewood township, which is the taxpayers of Lakewood. You claim that this money will be reimbursed by future developments. Maybe, maybe not. Is there anything legally binding that would require them to do so? Is there any guarantee that the reimbursements will cover the Towns outlay?
Where the funding is coming from, is just a small part of the overall mess created by the zoning and planning in Lakewood. the infrastructure for sewage is not adequate to handle the increased growth, yet somehow the infrastructure of the roads is?
I am not someone who opposes all building. Lakewood is growing and properties can and should be built to accommodate the growth. But the building of 50-400 unit developments that bottleneck and end up on one road is short sighted and has caused irreversible damage to Lakewood. There are much more densely populated cities that do not have traffic problems.
By all means build additional housing, but build additional crossroads as well. The costs of which should be born by the developers that are causing the extra traffic.
To fuzzy math: non I’m not “one of the few who benefit”…and sorry if I’ve confused you, but I didn’t imply the article was incorrect. Simply put: usually developers pay to put in water and sewer. Then the water co pays them back most or all of their cost after one year of the new customers becoming paying customers. So from where does american water get money to rebate to the developers? From the rate payers. In this case though they aren’t giving rebates to the affordable developers so at least that part of the project doesn’t cost the rate payers. As for the town, you ask how will they make sure to get reimbursed- simple- pay the fee before getting their approval or CO, and the town engineer determines how much they need to pay. They can even pass a law requiring this- which from what I’ve heard is actually the plan. As for your roads comment, I agree about the lack of proper direction over the past 15 years with zoning and planning, and that the road infrastructure needs to be greatly improved but if you’ve been listening to township meetings, you’ll know that the town is already working on opening new crossroads such as opening vine all the way down to cedarbridge…these roads are opposed in some cases of course by nearby residents. The fact is you can’t knock down houses to put in cross streets (you could by condemning them but no one in his right mind wants to do that) and in some areas there’s no other way or place to put a road except through homes. If a developer is putting in a development along Route 9, I may be mistaken but I think the town has been requiring them lately to put in roads connecting elsewhere. Now I must say, it’s been fun but I’ve used up my interest in this topic so farewell.
To “Fuzzy Math” I also agree to “Not So Fast” you must be one of those whippersnappers, and “geniuses” who think every thing is a waste go do some research and then open ur BIG mouth… Think b4 u talk!