WOODCLIFF LAKE, N.J.—Three developers hoping to win approval from the Borough Council to construct 16 units of affordable housing on 2.35 acres of borough-owned property offered proposals June 10 and included proposals to build market-rate units to help subsidize the affordable ones as well as plans to construct a 100% affordable complex.
Borough Council members and about 40 residents filled Tice Senior Center to hear detailed presentations from the Alpert Group LLC, of Fort Lee, Nouvelle LLC, of Cliffside Park, and Greater Bergen Community Action Inc., Hackensack.
The three developers presented options to council members to help them fulfill the borough’s 2017 affordable housing settlement which calls for 16 affordable housing units on three borough-owned lots off of Broadway near Highview Avenue.
The settlement agreement calls for a 16-unit, 100% affordable project on the site.
Within a week of the meeting, a local citizens’ group—Woodcliff Lake SHINE—which opposes high density development, emailed in support of only one proposal.
The group supported the Alpert Group’s 100 percent affordable proposal of 16 affordable units. Alpert Group also offered a second proposal that offered a 40-unit 100 percent affordable complex.
Appeal to the governing body
“Since the settlement agreement requires that Woodcliff Lake build only 16 units, we urge the mayor and council to select the Alpert Group for this [16-unit] project,” said the group in an email that linked to the proposals.
They singled out Alpert Group as “the only developer who proposed the minimum units” and lauded the developer for “successfully built similar projects in neighboring suburban towns like Franklin Lakes and River Vale.”
Alpert’s 16-unit affordable project was estimated at $4 million, with $1.6 million in mortgages from the state housing finance agency; $800K from Bergen County Home Funds; $500K in loans from the state housing finance agency; $900K from federal Home Loan Bank AHP subsidy; and a $200K deferred developers’ fee.
The 40-unit complex is estimated at $10 million, with $3 million from state mortgage finance agency; $6.5 million from low-income housing tax credit inquiry and $500K from deferred developers’ fees
Nouvelle LLC’s proposal plans 26 affordable units—which is above the 16-unit minimum requested
Based on the Borough’s affordable housing plan, the site will have access to both public water and public sewer located on North Broadway and Highview Road. All allocation for each service has been reserved by the township for this development project.
The site will allow for the 16 units required under this Request for Expressions of Interest (RFEI) but the Township is not opposed to have more units developed above the threshold indicated, said the request issued by Woodcliff Lake.
Nouvelle LLC proposed 26 affordable units in three buildings, two on Broadway and one on Highview. The two Broadway buildings would be 11 units each with commercial space in one building and a four-bedroom group home on Highview.
Greater Bergen Community Action proposed two options, both with 25 units, 16 affordables and nine market-rate units.
Its first proposal includes construction of two Dutch colonial design buildings on Broadway, similar to the Broadway Village built by GBCA in 1995.
The second option recommends 16 affordable attached townhome-style units with garages, upslope on the site’s east side. It includes nine market-rate units for sale, six on the site’s western side to buffer affordable units from sight.
“Depending upon the option selected, the estimated cost to develop the project is $9 million to $9.5 million. The respondent assumes roughly $1.8 million in grants in the aggregate: from Bergen County Community Development, CDBG and HOME programs, the Federal Home Loan Bank, 4% Low Income Housing Tax Credits from the NJ Housing and Mortgage Finance Agency, and the Borough’s Affordable Housing Trust Fund. The remaining funds are anticipated from the sale of the market rate units and long-term debt,” states the GBCA proposal.
“The project also anticipates a Payment in Lieu of Tax Agreement. Significantly, the market sale units will produce substantial, ongoing tax revenue to the Borough,” the proposal notes, adding GCPA needs to sell the market-rate units before building affordable units.
“If these market-rate units do not sell at expected prices, the town could incur financial burden,” states SHINE on its website.
‘Complete clarity’ needed
Council President Jacqueline Gadaleta—who is opposing Mayor Carlos Rendo this fall—said she wants “complete clarity” on the financial aspects of each proposal made by each developer to determine which one is best.
She said at the hearing “there were a lot of terms thrown around” and she wanted to get a financial analysis of the proposals to find out which may be the best economic choice.
But economics will not be the only deciding factor, she said.
“Aesthetics plays a key role as well so I need to have more information before making a final decision,” Gadaleta added.
She said the council wanted to give the public an opportunity to hear from developers and held the June 10 special meeting at Tice Center. She said she would like to “keep it as low-development as possible” and also not incur costs to taxpayers.
Gadaleta said borough professionals and legal counsel advised council that “the [Superior] court would like to see movement on this” referring to a 100 percent affordable development agreed to in its settlement plan.
Since the 1990s, the borough spent more than $1 million from its affordable housing trust fund to purchase three lots—2.35 acres along Broadway near Highview Avenue—with intention to build a 100 percent affordable project.
The 16 affordable rentals will kick in eight credits, bringing the development to 24 housing credits for its affordable plan.
Had the units been inclusionary development approximately 80 units, including 64 market-rate units, would have been necessary in town to provide the 16 affordable housing units offered by the 100% affordable complex.
Woodcliff Lake SHINE, whose group members often wear “SOD” stickers for “Stop Over-Development” expressed opposition to all but the Alpert’s Group proposal for a minimum 16-unit affordable complex.
Group members note the 2017 affordable settlement includes a 16-unit 100% affordable development and oppose additional units there.
Group prefers one developer
“Some residents have visited the Alpert Group’s [affordable] project at 720 McCoy Road in Franklin Lakes. They were pleased with the appearance and quality. The units blend in with surrounding area, and provide ample green space for the tenants to enjoy. The quality and density of these units are the least likely to lessen [local] property values,” said the group.
‘Not legally required’
“While our neighbors in Park Ridge and Montvale are faced with having to build hundreds of units, [the] Affordable Housing Committee (including Council and residents) were able to negotiate a much more realistic settlement for the borough,” the group notes.
“We do not need nor are we legally required to build one more unit above the 16 along Broadway,” said a SHINE email.
The group’s members also oppose a proposed 60-unit development at 188 Broadway up for a Zoning Board vote June 25. They cite impacts on quality of life, traffic,
That development includes nine affordable units, based on an ordinance that requires a 15% affordable rental unit set-aside in new multifamily developments.
