Elm Street Apartments

On Friday, April 16, NJCDC held a ceremonial event with Paterson Mayor Joey Torres to demolish an abandoned property in order to begin the process of constructing a new affordable housing complex for young adults leaving the foster care system as well as grandparents raising children.

The new housing complex, called the “Elm Street Apartments,” will consist of 20 units of permanent supportive housing for homeless young adults with previous involvement with the foster care system as well as grandparents raising their grandchildren.  The site, which is located on the corner of Elm Street next to Paterson’s newly developed Center City, formerly housed a small shelter for homeless families but has sat vacant for a number of years and has severe structural problems.

The new Elm Street Supportive Housing project will include fourteen studio apartments and six three-bedroom apartments.  NJCDC plans to lease the studio units to homeless young adults who have “aged-out” of the foster care system and need a safe, decent, and affordable home. The three-bedroom units will be rented to low-income grandparents raising grandchildren, in which at least one child in the family has a special need.  In addition to the apartments, the building will feature community space, common laundry facilities, and office and program space for the supportive service staff who will work with the tenants.  The building is designed to add aesthetic value to the neighborhood and ideally foster a greater sense of “community pride” while increasing the surrounding property values.  Social services will be provided to help both vulnerable populations achieve greater self-sufficiency.  Services will be tailored to the individual needs of the populations living in the building and will include case management, employment assistance and counseling.

The $5.2 million project is made possible with HOME funding from the City of Paterson, as well as significant funding from the state’s Housing and Mortgage Finance Agency (HMFA).  TD Bank has also provided funding.

The project is expected to be completed in the summer of 2011.