Housing for disabled
OK’d in Old Bridge
Apartment building is first of its kind in Middlesex County
BY SUE M. MORGAN
Staff Writer

A 61-unit apartment building designed to allow disabled adults to live on their own is one step closer to reality.

In a unanimous vote last Thursday night, the Old Bridge Zoning Board of Adjustment approved a use variance requested jointly by the Old Bridge Housing Authority and Pennrose Properties Inc., clearing the way for the four-story residential building to be built in an office zone at Route 18 and Ferry Road.

Likewise, the board as a whole granted preliminary site plan approval and a bulk variance to construct the building, reported to be the first of its kind in Middlesex County.

The building will be called the Chuck Costello Independent Living Center in honor of one of the 12 township residents who perished in the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center, according to Housing Authority Chairwoman Mary Ann Gurliaccio.

Prospective tenants of the complex include blind or deaf persons or those with cerebral palsy, multiple sclerosis, muscular dystrophy, or traumatic brain injury, as well as their family members, according to Richard K. Barnhart, CEO of Philadelphia-based Pennrose, who testified before the board.

Frail, elderly persons will also be eligible, Barnhart added.

"Able to live independently means that the individual can function successfully in their own home with available or designated assistance," he said.

The building will not house people with mental illness and will not be used as a mental health center, Barnhart said.

Similar facilities in other areas of New Jersey by Pennrose usually house families with a disabled older adolescent or adult child, he said.

"Most of the residents are going to be adult disabled and their families," Barnhart said.

Floor plans displayed by Raymond Rebilas, an architect with Kitchen & Associates, showed that the building will include one-, two-, and three-bedroom units. Each unit will include a living room, kitchen and accessible bathroom.

Two elevator banks, laundry facilities, a community room, and management offices will also be incorporated into the V-shaped structure, Rebilas said.

A total of 67 parking spots including many for disabled motorists will be available.

Monthly rents would be stabilized so that persons living on fixed incomes could afford to live in the apartments, Barnhart explained. While many tenants might receive Supplemental Security Income (SSI) or other government assistance, others might hold full- or part-time jobs, he said.

Rent for a one-bedroom unit would run $640 per month, a two-bedroom unit would go for $750, and a three-bedroom unit could be leased for $860 monthly, Barnhart said.

About 40 people, many of them disabled adults or their family members, raised their hands when Board Chairman Kiran Desai informally polled the audience to gauge public support for the proposed building.

Four persons who spoke during the public portion urged the board to approve the project, stressing that it would not further burden the school system or municipal services.

Prior to the start of the hearing, many supporters posted handmade signs in the hallways of the Thomas English Administration Building, as a means of persuading board members to grant the use variance application.

Following the hearing, an elated Gurliaccio thanked the board and the public for championing the plan.

"The time has come for us to recognize the needs of the disabled community, for people with disabilities to be elevated to a quality of life that is dignified and allows them to live independently," Gurliaccio said.

Old Bridge is now positioned to set the standard for other communities in Middlesex County and throughout the state, Gurliaccio said.

"I’m hoping that this [building] will become a model for other communities, for housing is a basic need for all people," she said.

"Old Bridge is on the cutting edge. We are one of the few municipalities in the state of New Jersey to construct this type of development," Gurliaccio said.

The authority and Pennrose had previously requested Thursday night’s special meeting in order to meet an Aug. 2 application deadline set by the New Jersey Housing Mortgage Finance Agency (NJHMFA). The co-applicants had to present their application, complete with use and preliminary site plan approvals, by that date to be considered for 9 percent in tax credits toward financing the project, Gurliaccio explained.

Those tax credits, in turn, will help the rents at the complex remain affordable, she added.

"The importance of this application being passed and the expediency behind it is the 9 percent tax credit that will allow our tenants to live in an economically affordable climate," Gurliaccio said.

The Middlesex County Board of Freeholders has also pledged $1.5 million to the authority for the project.

The Costello building, expected to be completed in about two years, will be built on land owned by the housing authority.

The building will be located next to Maher Manor, a 100-unit senior housing building now being built by the authority and Pennrose. Both structures are located near Raritan Bay Medical Center’s Old Bridge division.