NEWWARK, NJ - Newark Mayor Cory Booker will headline a Ribbon-Cutting celebration for Baxter Park, a newly constructed, sustainable, mixed-income, mixed-use community located on the former site of outdated public housing, at a ceremony set for today. Mayor Booker will be joined by state and federal officials as well as members of the community and Baxter Park residents for the event, celebrating the completion of this important revitalization effort that brings much-needed housing and retail opportunities to the neighborhood connecting the University Communities to the Broad Street Station District.
Baxter Park is the first phase of a multi-phased development bringing new affordable and market-rate rental apartment homes to the site of former public housing in the Broad Street District of Newark. This innovative development features a host of green building components, including new solar voltaic panels that will generate electricity for the buildings. Other green features include energy efficient construction and appliances, use of recycled materials, water saving fixtures, and on-site storm water management. The two beautiful four-story elevator buildings feature 90 apartments and 3,000 square feet of street-level retail opportunities. Amenities include a community room and a computer lab.
Developed as a public-private partnership between the Newark Housing Authority and The Michaels Development Company, funding for the $32 million Baxter Park development includes $12 million of equity raised from the sale of Low Income Housing Tax Credits and $11 million in Federal Capital Fund Recovery Grant Competition Funds (stimulus funding) awarded to the Newark Housing Authority from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Additional financing included Newark Housing Authority Capital Funds, a permanent loan provided by the New Jersey Housing & Mortgage Finance Agency and affordable housing program funds from the Federal Home Loan Bank of New York.
The new community, which is being managed by Interstate Realty Management, is already 100 percent occupied.
The Newark Housing Authority was founded in 1938. It is the largest public housing authority in New Jersey and the eleventh largest in the country. Its mission is to invest in families by building and maintaining affordable housing to encourage economic independence and healthy communities.
Michaels Development Company and Interstate Realty Management are part of The Michaels Organization, a family of eight integrated but independent companies dedicated to excellence in affordable, mixed-income, military, and student housing.