Don't squeeze the middle class out of developments.Redevelopment takes many forms in New Jersey, yet developers, investors and town officials seem focused on serving the extremes: the very wealthy homebuyer and the families in the lower income brackets. My theory was justified when I recently logged on to the Internet and typed in search terms focusing on redevelopment and New Jersey. Up came a glossy website from a national homebuilder, calling its redevelopment project in Hudson County "one of the last remaining properties on New Jersey's Gold Coast." The project was described to have "unparalleled elegance," "majestic views" and the "opportunity to live a charmed life A Charmed Life is a 1955 novel written by American novelist Mary McCarthy. Setting A Charmed Life takes place in the small New England town of New Leeds (presumably on Cape Cod), where "everyone is artistic, but no one is an artist. ." Very nice, and at a price tag of nearly $2 million a unit, its obvious this Hudson River Hudson River River, New York, U.S. Originating in the Adirondack Mountains and flowing for about 315 mi (507 km) to New York City, it was named for Henry Hudson, who explored it in 1609. Dutch settlement of the Hudson valley began in 1629. development is not meant for everyone. Scrolling down my computer screen, I also came upon some old press releases from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, announcing that funding had been secured to redevelop a Union County waterfront, replacing dilapidated housing projects with attached homes that lower-income people could be proud of. The government-funded project would "eradicate severely distressed public housing," according to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. the housing agency, and aid in the renaissance of a waterfront community that had fallen on hard times. I find both of these projects to be tremendous for their host communities. In both cases, city officials worked with developers to create projects that serve the populace and recharge valuable waterfront property. Yet for most people who read these same Internet pages, there is a paramount question that seems to go unanswered: Where does the middleclass homebuyer fit in the picture? In New Jersey, redevelopment is passing by the typical homebuyer. These are the people who earn too much money to qualify to live in a government subsidized redevelopment project, yet find $2 million waterfront townhouses a bit out of reach. No doubt, these individuals are an untapped market for redevelopers. These homebuyers are drawn to all the benefits of a redevelopment concept known as "New Urbanism New urbanism is an American urban design movement that arose in the early 1980s. Its goal is to reform all aspects of real estate development and urban planning, from urban retrofits to suburban infill. "--in which they can live in urban redevelopment projects that are close to public transportation, shopping, restaurants and either New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of or Philadelphia. To serve this market, Kaplan Companies has focused its recent redevelopment efforts on serving the typical homebuyer--individuals who can spend between $300,000 and $500,000 on new construction. We've found that tapping this vast market has been enormously successful, creating a shift in our company's business plan. We were very encouraged by a recent redevelopment project we completed in Ridgefield Park Ridgefield Park, village (1990 pop. 12,454), Bergen co., NE N.J., on the Hackensack River; inc. 1892. Chiefly residential, it manufactures some paper goods. , a middle-class community in Bergen County. We turned a blighted property into a beautiful townhouse town·house or town house n. 1. A residence in a city. 2. A row house, especially a fashionable one. community. The project, known as "The Meadows at Ridgefield Park" quickly sold out, as middle-class homebuyers flocked to a redevelopment project that catered specifically to them. We are now working on similar redevelopment projects in such communities as Hackensack, Bayonne, Carteret, Perth Amboy Perth Amboy (ăm`boi), city (1990 pop. 41,962), Middlesex co., NE N.J., with a harbor on Arthur Kill at the mouth of the Raritan River, which is crossed there to Staten Island, N.Y., by the Outerbridge Crossing (1928); settled 1683, inc. and Cinnaminson, developing a mix of housing that targets the middle-class homebuyer. The response to these projects--which are now all under construction--has been strong, as municipal leaders are working with us to bring in fresh and modern housing stock that encourages people to stay in these older towns and spend their money locally. As the amount of available land in New Jersey continues to shrink at a daunting daunt tr.v. daunt·ed, daunt·ing, daunts To abate the courage of; discourage. See Synonyms at dismay. [Middle English daunten, from Old French danter, from Latin rate, it is the responsibility of local redevelopers to ensure their product can serve the greatest amount of people, and, therefore, serve the greater good. Redevelopment in New Jersey is a wonderful thing. It makes no sense for the middle-class to be squeezed out of it. JASON Jason, in Greek mythology Jason, in Greek mythology, son of Aeson. When Pelias usurped the throne of Iolcus and killed (or imprisoned) Aeson and most of his descendants, Jason was smuggled off to the centaur Chiron, who reared him secretly on Mt. Pelion. KAPLAN PRESIDENT, KAPLAN COMPANIES |
|
||||||||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion