NEWARK-Related Capital Co. has provided more than $25.5 million in equity financing for two affordable housing complexes set to rise in this city's Central Ward. The CharterMac subsidiary's funding is backing $44 million worth of product, constituting two phases of a larger revitalization effort by the Newark Housing Authority.

Justin Ginsberg, managing director of the New York City-based Related Capital Co. says the entire community within the city is undergoing a major transformation, "It's a win-win for us, with our investment helping to catalyze other investment in the area."

The two new projects include Charlton Gardens, an $18.5-million complex of 60 garden apartment and townhouse units on a 10-acre site. Related provided $10.7 million in equity in exchange for tax credits generated by the complex, which will consist of seven two-story garden apartment and townhouse buildings.

Related has also provided $14.75 million in equity in exchange for tax credits generated by Stella Gardens. The $25.2 million development of 93 affordable garden apartments and single-family structures will rise directly across the street from Charlton Gardens.

Both properties will rise on portions of the former site of the Stella Wright Homes public housing complex. The high-rise, multi-building project, dating back to the 1970s and representing an early effort to redevelop the riot-torn Central Ward, has been demolished to make way for the Newark Housing Authority's $130-million redevelopment plan. The latter includes several hundred residential units with an emphasis on encouraging residents to eventually buy their own homes.

Both Charlton Gardens and Stella Gardens are being built by the Plymouth Meeting, PA-based Roizman Development Inc., an affiliate of Related Capital Co. The latest funding follows Related's financing of 170 residences in an earlier phase, a deal that was completed this past fall.