Housing Authority to build six offsite units City conveys vacant parcel of land on Central Avenue to LBHA for $1 BY CHRISTINE VARNO Staff Writer LONG BRANCH - The city has sold a parcel of land to the Long Branch Housing Authority (LBHA) for $1 to make way for the construction of affordable housing units. The LBHA plans to build six offsite housing units on a vacant piece of land on Central Avenue for residents who are over the income requirements and no longer qualify to live within one of the authority's complexes. "We want to build offsite units that have no income restrictions that can be offered at a reduced rate," said LBHA Executive Director Tyrone Garrett. "Some residents who live in one of the housing authority complexes no longer qualify. They are over-income. "If a resident in one of our complexes gets an increase in their income, we are not required to ask them to leave," he said. "We just ask them to pay the maximum rent based on their income. "With this scattered housing, there is no income restriction," he said, adding, "That is why we are doing it. We are losing money when we do this, but it is a need." The City Council voted 4-0 at the March 11 meeting to approve a resolution that calls for the LBHA to acquire the estimated 625-square-foot parcel of land. The LBHA plans to start construction on the $1.2 million project in the fall and the project will take approximately six months to complete, according to Garrett. The six units will be rental, according to Garrett who explained that offsite scattered housing is the next step to homeownership for housing authority residents. The scattered site housing project is part of the LBHA Garfield Court Phase II project. Plans call for the LBHA to construct 70 units for the second phase of the Garfield Court project on the corner of Rockwell and Central avenues. Construction on the 70 units is expected to start in December and is expected to take 12 months to complete, according to Garrett. At the completion of the second phase of Garfield Court, the new complex will house 147 total new units between the two phases of the project, Garrett said. The City Council also voted 4-0 at the March 11 meeting to approve two resolutions of need to support the LBHA Garfield Court project. "They are resolutions of support from the city, saying that there is a substantial need for the creation of affordable housing in Long Branch," Garrett said. The Garfield Court project marks the LBHA's third affordable housing project, according to Garrett. Through the Garfield Court, Seaview Manor and Grant Court projects, along with additional homeownership units constructed in the city, Garret said the authority will have constructed 275 new affordable housing units upon completion of all of the projects. The Seaview Manor project on the corner of Seaview and Ellis avenues is complete and fully occupied with 40 families, according to Garret. The Grant Court project, now called the Presidential Estates, on the corner of Central Avenue and Liberty Street, is also complete, Garrett said. "We have been very fortunate to have been able to stick to our housing plan," Garrett said. "The residents and the city have given us a lot of help and support." The LBHA also agreed on Tuesday to turn over a prefabricated warehouse to the city. "It was on the Garfield Court site in our maintenance area," Garrett said. "We were using that as a warehouse. "It is in good shape," he said. "It is only about four years old and it made no sense to demolish it when someone else could actually utilize it. "We gave it to the city to use for storage," he added.