Council to consider 30-year tax exemption for senior-housing rehab at 259 Van Nostrand; $24 million rehab proposed

Council members heard a presentation on a proposed 30-year tax exemption for a senior housing project at 259 Van Nostrand Avenue, a 67-unit building whose owner seeks financing and long-term tax relief to fund a $24 million rehabilitation.

George Garcia, attorney for the applicant, told the Jersey City Municipal Council at the caucus meeting that the project would use New Jersey Housing and Mortgage Finance Agency (NJHMFA) financing and low-income housing tax credits to pay for extensive work: roof replacement, new windows, energy-efficient HVAC, elevator modernization, site and streetscape upgrades, and unit interior renovations. The applicant requested a tax exemption under the New Jersey Mortgage and Housing Finance law (NJSA 54:14K-1 et seq.) to accompany HMFA financing.

The council was given a project summary that said the building has been occupied by low-income senior residents for nearly 25 years and that the rehab would preserve all 67 units as affordable housing for seniors at or below 60% of area median income. Garcia said the owner does not plan to add or remove units and described the work as a full modernization tied to HMFA requirements.

Council members asked for operational and labor details before taking action. Councilperson Ridley requested information on whether union labor would perform the renovations and asked for a logistics plan describing how residents would be accommodated during work. A council member also raised the building's recent elevator outages and asked whether the rehab would fix elevator reliability; Garcia confirmed elevator modernization is included in the scope.

The applicant’s financing package, as presented, includes low-income housing tax credits, New Jersey preservation funding and an NJHMFA mortgage; Garcia said those sources will underwrite the roughly $24 million rehab. The request before the council is a long-term exemption required by HMFA as part of the financing.

Next steps: the ordinance approving the tax exemption was placed on the council agenda for consideration at the upcoming meeting; council members asked staff to circulate the logistics plan and to confirm whether union contractors will be used prior to a final vote.

Why it matters: the exemption would enable a large, long-term rehabilitation of an aging affordable senior building and is tied to state finance rules that condition funding on long-term affordability and certain exemptions.

Additional context: the presentation referenced NJHMFA rules and the city’s role in granting the municipal exemption required for HMFA-funded rehabilitations.