A nearly 20-year-old senior housing development was granted a conditional extension of its Payment In Lieu of Taxes (PILOT) as part of plans to renovate the facility.
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City Council approved a resolution (AR-158-22) during its August regular meeting authorizing the “conditional extension” of a PILOT agreement for Rosegate at Heritage Village, a 150-unit low-income senior citizen housing complex on East Hazelwood Avenue (Block 299, Lot 3.01).
Rosegate filed for refinancing with the state Housing and Mortgage Finance Agency (HMFA), in accordance with Section 37 of the NJHMFA Law of 1983, according to the resolution. The project was approved by the Planning Board in April 2002 and constructed in 2005, financed through the state HFMA, by Lawrenceville-based Community Investment Strategies. The current HMFA mortgage is in place for another 23 years and the PILOT would be extended once the re-financing application is granted by HMFA.
Refinancing of the permanent mortgage is part of the plan to renovate the 150 units (133 one-bedroom, 16 two-bedroom, and 1 superintendent unit), community room, office space, and common areas, which would “restore the viability of the units…and preserve the existing rental subsidy,” according to the resolution.
The original PILOT agreement, approved in 2003 by a 5-2 vote, estimated a $17.3-million development and a PILOT of 2 percent of projected revenues but no less than $25,000 annually. The 2022 municipal budget anticipates $25,000 in PILOT revenue from Rosegate, up from $14,000 the past two years. Overall, the city budget anticipates $2.552 million in PILOT revenue.
The PILOT would be extended so long as the complex remains subject to “affordability controls,” such as federal or state project-based assistance, compliance with Uniform Housing Affordability Controls, and rent or income limits established by federal Low-Income Housing Tax Credit program.
Since Rosegate’s development 20 years ago, at least two other affordable housing complexes have been built downtown: The 51-unit age-restricted Jack and Margaret Myers building on Esterbrook Avenue completed in 2013, and The Willows, a 58-unit complex on Central Avenue geared toward people who work in the arts. Plans are in the early stages for another 60-unit senior affordable housing development across the street from the Meyers building.
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