By DAVID NAHAN/Sentinel staff
OCEAN CITY – Ocean City is getting a $2 million return on investment.
Gov. Phil Murphy’s administration announced last week the city is getting a $2 million award from the Affordable Housing Trust Fund to build 10 affordable rental units in different locations in the city.
According to state Sen. Michael Testa (R-1), Ocean City is just getting back money it has put into the trust fund.
Whenever homes are sold, part of the realty transfer fee goes into the trust fund. Ocean City has one of the largest ratable bases in New Jersey at more than $11 billion and the real estate market has been very good in recent years, meaning real estate sales in the resort pour into the fund.
The trust fund, administered by the Department of Community Affairs (DCA), allows for the development of different types of affordable housing projects to support stronger, fairer nand more affordable communities, according to the administration.
“I am excited to see these affordable housing units become a reality. They will help strengthen the Ocean City community, creating more diverse neighborhoods, while keeping Cape May County vibrant and prosperous,” Lt. Gov. Sheila Y. Oliver, who serves as DCA commissioner, said in the administration’s announcement. “The rental units will provide 10 families with the opportunity to have an affordable place to call home.”
The Ocean City Scattered Site Affordable Rentals project will receive $2 million for the new construction of five buildings containing a total of 10 affordable rental units on scattered sites along Third Street and Simpson and Bay avenues.
“Our court-ordered obligation to build affordable units in town is substantial, so it’s great to see this relief for our taxpayers, and the grant will leave more money in our affordable housing trust fund,” Mayor Jay Gillian said Monday morning.
According to Ocean City public information officer Doug Bergen, the resort faced a 1,687-unit affordable housing obligation and was able to successfully argue in court and enter into a 2018 settlement agreement to create a more realistic 93 units.
He said the grant will help pay for 10 rent-controlled units on city-owned parcels at three locations: a two-unit home on the 200 block of Simpson Avenue, two two-unit homes at Third Street and Haven Avenue, and two two-unit homes at the former American Legion post at 3304 Bay Ave. The city’s affordable housing trust fund – funded through a developer’s fee – will pay the balance.
Bergen added the city is “making great progress toward fulfilling” its affordable housing obligations. He also pointed to the construction of the new Spittle Commons next to Bayview Manor, which will provide 32 units, through a partnership with the federally funded Ocean City Housing Authority. The building is expected to be complete by summer.
“To be clear,” Testa said, “that affordable housing is meant for senior citizens of the state of New Jersey. What I like about it is the senior citizens of our state have spent their whole lives in one of the most tax-burdened states in the United States of America. It’s time, if they want to stay in the Garden State, and I hope they do, that they deserve some relief and they certainly deserve to have affordable housing.”
Testa said it is good to see money returning to Cape May County, which contributes more to the state than it gets in return.
“So much of the money that is collected in south Jersey, and I’ll just use the tourism dollars from Cape May County alone, $550 million in tourism tax dollars go to Trenton each year with $1 million returning. That’s a real problem,” he said.
“South Jersey continuously gets forgotten in Trenton and all of the money, all of the tax dollars that come from south Jersey, get thrown into what I call the black hole of the general fund and somehow never make their way back to south Jersey,” Testa added, “so I’m really happy that the money contributed by Ocean City is somehow finding its way back to Ocean City in its relief for our seniors.”
In addition to this award in Cape May County, the Murphy Administration announced the award of more than $19 million to housing organizations throughout the state through the Affordable Housing Trust Fund (AHTF).
