Maplewood Township is asking those who qualify to apply for two new affordable apartment units at 95 Tiffany Place in Maplewood.
Meanwhile, one local leader is encouraging Maplewood residents to use their own homes to help expand affordable housing options in town.
Two low-income apartments — one two-bedroom and one three-bedroom unit — recently became available at 95 Tiffany Place in Maplewood. Applications are due August 31. See more information in the graphic below.
The apartments are sponsored by Sierra House, a non-profit based in East Orange. “They came to the Township with this project, with $900,000 in funding from the State of New Jersey and a loan from a non-profit finance fund to purchase the two-family home,” explained Maplewood Township Committeeperson and former Mayor Vic De Luca.
“The Township agreed to provide a Payment in lieu of Taxes (PILOT) to make the project economically viable over 30 years,” said De Luca. “As per state regulations, Sierra House is responsible to recruit prospective tenants from the Essex-Union region, not only from Maplewood. Families are selected for the units by way of a lottery system. Priority can be given to homeless and veterans. Sierra House will be making all decisions with regard to tenancy.”
“I expect a lot of interest by prospective tenants and a large waiting list,” added De Luca.
“This project is designed to provide affordable housing to a very low income population,” De Luca said. “This is possible because Sierra House is getting rental vouchers from the state for the 30 years of the project. With the vouchers, families will only have to pay 30% of their income for housing. The voucher pays the balance of the fair market rent.”
When Village Green mentioned to De Luca that some community members had “scoffed” at the small number of units — two — coming online through the project compared to the large demand for such housing, De Luca made a call for the community to step up:
“For those who scoff at there only being two units, I invite them to be part of the solution. Build an accessory dwelling unit on your property to rent to someone needing affordable housing or take in a boarder who needs a cheaper place to live.
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“The Sierra House project is part of Maplewood’s strategy to maintain affordable units. Our rental set aside for new apartment buildings has resulted in over 50 affordable apartments throughout town. Another 50 affordable bedrooms are in a dozen group homes in town. We have 114 affordable senior rental units on Irvington Avenue, where tenants only pay 30% of their income. And we instituted a home ownership program that has enabled two families meeting affordable housing income guidelines to purchase homes, one a house and another a condominium. Lastly, the Township just issued a Request for Expression of Interest in Developing Affordable Housing in Maplewood. Through this we hope to produce a significant number of new affordable units in town.
“So bottom line is that the Sierra House project has to be viewed within the larger picture of creating affordable units in Maplewood.”
