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State HMFA provided $1.5 million to help fund the 56-unit project

Millennium Way, a rehabilitated 56-unit, affordable housing development located in Newark’s South Ward, has been completed with the aid of $1.5 million in federal funding, government officials announced Tuesday.

Millennium Way involved the substantial rehabilitation of 38 two-story townhouses and 18 stacked flats. Two townhomes are equipped for hearing or visually impaired residents and three others are fully accessible for disabled persons. Additionally, 15 of the units are set aside for individuals with a mental illness who are in need of permanent supportive housing.

There also will be a 4,100-square-foot community center that is expected to be complete in the autumn. Millennium Way is served by 10 bus routes that provide direct access to New York City. The site is also in close proximity to The University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, Essex County College and the Rutgers University‘s Newark campus.

The state Housing and Mortgage Finance Agency (HMFA) provided the $1.5 million in permanent financing for the project from its Special Needs Housing Trust Fund.

“Creating quality affordable housing options for all segments of the population requires partnerships between the communities, philanthropic groups and the State,” state Community Affairs Commissioner Lori Grifa, the HMFA chairwoman, said at a completion ceremony in Newark. “We are extremely proud that Millennium Way provides a comfortable place for residents to call home and that it offers a new resource for the greater Newark community.”

“I am so pleased that the Housing and Mortgage Finance Agency was able to be a part of Millennium Way, which would not be a reality without the hard work, persistence and commitment of the development team,” HMFA Director Anthony Marchetta said. “Without a doubt, this project presents a better living experience for the residents of the City of Newark.”

The Newark Housing Authority (NHA) is the developer for Millennium Way. NHA currently operates and maintains 8,000 scattered public housing units in 44 public housing developments.

The Special Needs Housing Trust Fund provides capital financing to create permanent supportive housing and community residences for individuals with special needs, with priority given to individuals with mental illness. The purpose of the fund is to develop special needs housing and residential opportunities as alternatives to institutionalization or homelessness for those who would benefit from these programs and to ensure the long-term viability of such housing.

— TOM HESTER SR., NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM