A $30-million, 81-unit affordable housing complex, Victory Commons, was officially opened on April 30 in Voorhees, a suburban Camden County town, and held up as an example of the type of project that needs to accelerate across New Jersey.
A blend of public and private financing was used for the project at 1223 Haddonfield-Berlin Road, developed by The Michaels Organization. The project, totaling 94,503 square feet, includes 16 one-bedroom apartments (870 square feet each), 44 two-bedroom apartments (1,103 square feet each), and 21 three-bedroom apartments (1,343 square feet each).
Tenants at Victory Commons must have a household income equal to 60% or less of the Area Median Income. Median household income in Voorhees was estimated at $105,473 for 2024 by the Census Bureau’s American Community Survey. Voorhees’ median income was the eighth highest out of 35 municipalities in the county and 14% higher than the Camden County median.
The rental community’s website notes that the apartments are 100% occupied and the waitlist has been closed.
“This community, which provides 81 beautiful new homes with access to excellent schools and local amenities, is a true testament to the power of public-private collaboration. We are immensely grateful for the unwavering support from our vital partners — the Township of Voorhees, Camden County, the New Jersey Housing and Mortgage Finance Agency (NJHMFA), and TD Bank — all of whom helped make this vision a reality,” said Nicholas J. Cangelosi, regional vice president of Michaels, the Camden-based national developer of rental properties.
Financing includes $9.2 million in private equity raised through the sale of federal Low-Income Housing Tax Credits allocated by the New Jersey Housing Finance Agency (NJHFA), which also provided a $5 million permanent mortgage, as well as $10 million in Housing Production Loan funds and $750,000 through the NJHFA Special Needs Housing Trust Fund, according to a Camden County announcement. The project also used a $1.8 million HOME Investment Partnership Loan provided by Camden County.
“Increasing access to safe, high-quality, affordable housing remains a paramount priority for the (Camden County) Board of Commissioners. Developments like Victory Commons are critical to ensuring that more of our residents throughout the county have a place they can call home,” Commissioner Director Louis Cappelli Jr. said in the announcement.
In the announcement, the county said the state’s affordable housing executive order, signed on April 27 by Gov. Mikie Sherrill, demonstrates the need to increase the amount of affordable housing.
“With this executive order, we are aligning every tool at our disposal to accelerate housing production and make it easier for families to put down roots in the communities they love,” Sherrill said in a statement.
By September 24, a new Housing Governing Council is required to make recommendations that include defining the Sherrill administration’s housing goals, accelerating housing production, developing surplus state property into housing, and coordinating funding processes for housing development, according to the executive order.
Assembly Majority Leader Louis D. Greenwald (D-Camden, Burlington counties), who attended the ribbon cutting in Voorhees – where his district office is located – said too many families are priced out of the communities where they want to live.
“Projects like Victory Commons don’t happen by accident, they’re the result of strong public investment, real partnership across all levels of government, and a local commitment to planning for and delivering housing that meets the needs of the community. This is how we expand opportunity: by creating housing people can afford, closer to where they work, in communities that are positioned to grow and succeed,” Greenwald said in a statement.
