HMFA Helps Break Ground on Mixed-Income Townhouse Community in Trenton
Project to Provide Energy-Efficient Housing People Can Afford  


TRENTON - New Jersey Housing and Mortgage Finance Agency (HMFA) Executive Director Marge Della Vecchia today joined local officials and representatives of K. Hovnanian Homes to break ground on The Villages at Delaware Run, an 84-unit townhouse project located at Lamberton and Lalor streets in Trenton. The HMFA, an affiliate of the Department of Community Affairs (DCA), has committed to $7.7 million in construction and subsidy loans for the project.

"This is the first time the HMFA has partnered on a project with K. Hovnanian Homes, the state's largest homebuilder, and it couldn't be for a more worthwhile community," said HMFA Executive Director Della Vecchia. "The Villages at Delaware Run represents the Agency's mission of investing in projects that increase affordable housing, encourage people to live where they work, and enhance market value and community well-being. It will also help revitalize Trenton's South Ward neighborhood and boost businesses there."

The groundbreaking today marks the first of two phases of The Villages at Delaware Run, which will ultimately include a total of 84 newly constructed townhomes. The project is located on the Champale Redevelopment site, an area bordered by Lamberton, Cliff, Lalor and Centre Streets and adjacent to the Route 29 tunnel and Riverfront Park in the City of Trenton. Upon completion, the project will have 12 three-story residential buildings and will include a mini-park open to the general public. K. Hovnanian will also fund exterior improvements to the Delaware Inn, a nearby 211-year-old former tavern owned by the city that is slated to become the Port of Trenton Museum and a community center.

Phase I will consist of 50 townhouses contained within six three-story buildings. The townhomes will range from two-bedroom, 1½ bath units to three-bedroom, 2½ bath units. All the units will meet New Jersey Energy Star standards and have garages.

Of the first phase townhouses, eight will be affordable units priced between $75,500 and $138,900 and 42 will be emerging market units with prices ranging from $165,000 to $227,000.

The HMFA will be providing a construction loan of approximately $3.76 million and a subsidy loan of approximately $3.95 million under the Choices in Home Ownership Incentives Created for Everyone (CHOICE) program. CHOICE is the Agency's financing program for the development of newly constructed and substantially rehabilitated homeownership housing in New Jersey. The program features below-market interest rate construction loans and construction subsidy funding for developers, as well as favorable end loan financing for eligible homebuyers.

The anticipated construction start date for phase I is fall of this year with an estimated completion date of April 2011.

For more information on HMFA programs and mortgages, please call 1-800-NJHOUSE or 609-278-7400, or log on to www.nj-hmfa.com.


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