Eatontown nonprofit builds affordable units The 14-unit Carver Hotel project to house low-income residents BY DANIEL HOWLEY Staff Writer EATONTOWN - The Affordable Housing Alliance (AHA), based in Eatontown, is expected to start renting out rooms next month at its newly constructed affordable housing complex. The AHA built the 14-unit Carver Hotel project in Neptune at the site of the former historic Carver Hotel. The rental units at the new complex will house lowand moderate-income families in Monmouth County. AHA completed the hotel project by last week and certificates of occupancy are expected to be issued by the borough of Neptune this month, according to Executive Director of AHA Donna Blaze. In 2003, the AHA purchased the site with the hope of repairing and renovating the hotel to create an affordable housing apartment complex. While the AHA was awaiting approval from the Neptune Planning Board to renovate the hotel, a section of wall at the building was damaged in a 1999 fire. The building was exposed to the elements for four years and collapsed, causing the rest of the building to lose its structural integrity. "We were appearing before the Planning Board to renovate the building at the time, but while we were before the board, [the wall] collapsed on itself," Blaze said. As a result of the collapse, the remainder of the building was deemed unsafe and had to be demolished. Due to the historical significance of the Carver Hotel, Blaze explained that the AHA decided to move forward with plans to construct an affordable housing apartment on the site. "We had had some opposition from the Neptune Zoning Board of Adjustment," Blaze said. "We were denied our approval even though the Neptune Borough Council had approved the construction." The board's decision to deny the project was eventually overturned in the state Appellate Court, according to Blaze. "There was dissension on the part of one or two [Zoning Board] members," Blaze said. "Their justifications weren't warranted. "The City Council supported [the project], as did the neighborhood and the county, and that's why it is here," Blaze said. The façade of the new building was constructed in the likeness of the former hotel, according to Blaze, who said the remainder of the building was updated to meet modern construction requirements. "I'm pleased with it," Blaze said. "It's always nice if we can do it quicker," she said. "But it's done and it turned out to be a beautiful building. "It's nice to preserve that and it's nice that it can serve a population that can remember back to those times," she said. The AHA is a not-for-profit group based in Eatontown that is dedicated to providing residents of Monmouth, Mercer and Ocean counties with the resources and information needed to better understand affordable housing. The group funds construction projects throughout the three counties that provide affordable housing opportunities to low- and moderate-income residents. The AHA mission is to expand affordable housing resources for residents of Monmouth, Ocean and Mercer counties. "This task is accomplished through interagency cooperation and partnerships, and all facets of real estate development, from consultation and acquisition to construction or renovation and management," according to the AHAWeb site. The AHA also held dedications for two single-family affordable housing units in Asbury Park on April 18, according to Collins. The single-family units are located on Sewall Avenue and Comstock Street. The Sewall Avenue unit sold for approximately $111,400, while the Comstock Street home sold for $138,500. A dedication for the AHA's Neptune project is planned to be held on June 4. The original Carver Hotel was constructed over 100 years ago and was one of the top tourist destinations in New Jersey for African Americans throughout the 1930s and 1940s, Blaze explained. "It was a very strategically important building for the African American community during the height of the 1930s and 1940s," she said. "It was probably the only hotel in a 50- mile radius that served the African-American community," Blaze said. "In general there wasn't a lot to chose from." According to Blaze, the site hosted a wealth of African American dignitaries and celebrities, including Ray Charles, Harry Belafonte, Ozzie Davis, Thurgood Marshall and Count Basie. "It was a place where people had communions, coming-out parties and weddings," Blaze said. "It was where you could take a Friday night date, it was that kind of location. It held a lot of good feelings for a lot of people," she said, adding that she is happy that the AHA had the opportunity to build at the site.