Aberdeen Considers Affordable Senior Complex on Church Street

The Aberdeen Township Council and the Planning Board met Tuesday night to hear plans for a senior complex on Church Street.

The senior complex is proposed to be built on a 14-acre redevelopment site that formerly housed the South River Metals building. No action was taken at the special joint meeting.

The senior complex would consist of 80 one-bedroom independent senior living units, which are 675 square feet. The building would be three stories and would contain a senior center, which would be open to the entire senior community, regardless of whether or not they live in the complex. There are plans for between 8 and 12 two-bedroom units.

The building would also include a senior center and a wellness center.

There are additional plans for a later phase of construction that would include a second building with 80 assisted living units for seniors who require special care.

The units will serve as affordable housing for Aberdeen Township. According to Aberdeen Mayor Fred Tagliarini, the council and planning board is focused on completing this project to allow seniors who cannot afford regular housing to stay in the area close to their families and friends.

"I spoke with a woman who has been living here since 1963 and doesn't want to move but can't afford to stay," Tagliarini said. "This is an affordable way for residents who have been here for 30, 40, 50 years to stay here."

This is not the first time a senior complex has been proposed at the old South River Metals site. According to David Samuel, a managing partner at Consulting & Municipal Engineers (CME), this project has been a "long journey."

According to Samuel, the property on Church Street was first a manufacturing site, between 1908 and 1985. It then became a furniture warehouse until the warehouse caught fire in 1989. Aberdeen Township acquired the property through foreclosure during the 1990s.

In 2003, according to Samuel, the township authorized the planning board to investigating the property to see if it was suitable for redevelopment. Over the years, the old building on the property has been demolished and asbestos and large tanks have been removed. The board appointed a developer in 2004, according to Samuel, but the project was never finished.

"Since [2003], the council has worked to try to bring about a senior citizen complex. There were some set backs with the developer who thought they were able to do it, but did not deliver," said Samuel.

The investigation and clean up were partially funded through grants from the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) Hazardous Discharge Site Remediation Fund (HDSRF).

After multiple attempts to redevelop the vacant property, Aberdeen Township contacted Community Investment Strategies, Inc (CIS) for assistance in making their goal a reality.

According to the company's website, CIS focuses on creating affordable housing that residents on a modest budget can be proud of.

"We're very careful about is that we never want to present something we don't feel can actually become a reality. We're very cautious in the approach to redevelopment in making sure we look at all the changes that are coming down - whether it be DEP Changes, new funding changes or policy changes in the state," said owner and co-founder of CIS, Chris Foglio.

There is still much to clean up to be done on the property, according to Foglio. However, she is confident that the project will be successful.

There were 36 applications to the state for affordable housing, according to Foglio. The state will only fund 7 or 9, she said, which makes it a very competitive process. In this last round, there were items that gave priority to certain properties, including if a site is marked for redevelopment and has had environmental clean up.

Some residents remained skeptical that the project will be completed this time around.

"This is something that comes up every two years, especially around an election year," said Ken Aitken, who attended the meeting and is also a member of the Board of Education.

Tagliarini, however, is more confident that the project will finally go through to completion

"We're hoping that the right mix is finally in place," he said. "We're forging ahead."

Foglio estimates that the project would take two years after being approved by the planning board to move forward. She said that it will take about one year to raise the necessary funds to support the affordable housing and about one year to construct the building.