A proposal to erect a five-story senior housing complex in Newark’s South Ward took a major step forward recently after city council voted to approve a payment in-lieu of taxes (PILOT) agreement with its developer.
Officials at the meeting voted to approve a 30-year agreement for Sheila Y. Oliver Senior Housing Community LLC, named after the late lieutenant governor, to build a 48-unit complex at 117 Aldine Street.
Charles Oliver, the late lieutenant governor’s nephew, is spearheading the project, which will redevelop eight vacant parcels at the corner of Aldine Street and Lyons Avenue, and make all units affordable for seniors. The lion’s share of the units, 42 apartments, will be allotted to residents earning 60% of the area median income, which is $135,300 for the region, while five units will be allotted to seniors with special needs that also earn 20% AMI.
Local residents raised significant opposition to the agreement during the city council meeting. They said that the deal lacks transparency and that such projects do little to benefit the community due to the high cost of the units. But that did not deter officials, who voted unanimously to approve the tax incentive agreement.
Charles Oliver, the co-managing member of the LLC told Jersey Digs that Teaneck-based real estate investment firm The Alpert Group is a partner in the project and that while he understands residents’ concerns, the project will be 100% affordable. Sheila Oliver also grew up in the South Ward, Charles said, so the project will also serve to commemorate her memory.
“The project has an anticipated funding source of a Low Income Housing Tax Credit that is issued through [the New Jersey Housing and Mortgage Finance Agency (HMFA)],” he said. “We will be submitting our application for that 9% tax credit next month in September… if we are awarded that [credit], we would envision a groundbreaking next June.”
When asked to share the full financial terms of the tax incentive agreement, Charles Oliver said he was unable to do so, but noted that the project will pay an annual service charge of 6.28% of the project’s annual gross revenue, as per the recommendations of New Jersey HMFA.
Jersey Digs reported earlier this year that The Alpert Group secured a 30-year tax abatement in Jersey City that will support the renovation of the Harwood Pavilion, located at 259 Van Nostrand Avenue, and that the developer also secured funding from HMFA.
A report in TAPinto Newark said that the approval from city council comes shortly after the city’s Zoning Board of Adjustments. Charles told Jersey Digs that no approvals are required from the city’s planning board, and that if HFMA agrees to fund the project later this year, the group will break ground in mid-2026.
