Housing Authority Unveils $200M Redevelopment

Most of the Central Ward's "projects" are gone now--the last one will come down in April – as part of the Newark Housing Authority's systematic long-term plan to remake the most troubled part of a long-troubled city. With that last complex about to tumble, city officials, late last week, unveiled their master plan for making the Central Ward a desirable place to live and invest in again.

The $200 million plan introduced by Newark Mayor Sharpe James includes nearly 800 housing units configured in a townhouse format, along with several community buildings, restaurant and entertainment venues, parks, a 50-bed assisted living facility and a police substation. At the press conference announcing the massive project, James termed it "the most holistic project in the history of this city."

Already in the city Housing Authority's coffers, according to James, are a $35 million HOPE VI grant and a $24 million HOPE I grant. HOPE is the acronym for the federal Housing Opportunities for People Everywhere program, introduced during the Clinton presidency to address urban housing needs. City officials say they are actively working to leverage the initial $59 million into more public and private funding assistance for the project.

No hard timeline has been announced for the phased development, although the first phase of residences is expected to be underway late this year. A second phase could be under construction by the end of 2003, according to city officials, with build-out anticipated to be four or five years down the road.

Simultaneous to the project's announcement, James also informed the press conference that Freddie Mac is hooking up with the CN Urban Development Corp. and financial giant JPMorgan Chase to spend up to $40 million to help Newark residents buy and mortgage their own homes. Low home ownership has been a longstanding problem here – the percentage of home ownership is only about one-third of the national average of 70%. Of the total number of residential units being built in the new project, about one-third will fall into the scope of the Freddie Mac mortgage aid program.