(Courtesy of Teaneck Council) A groundbreaking was held on Wednesday at a decaying former public works building at 1425 Teaneck Road to make way for new affordable senior housing and a community center.
“The new affordable senior housing and community center at 1425 Teaneck Road will enable even more older adults to age friendly in the community they love with their families and their friends,” said Deputy Mayor Elie Y. Katz, who has long championed this project. “Teaneck is a great place to live, work, raise a family and retire, and we will always continue to look for more ways to help our residents age in place.”
“We often hear from residents how private apartments are not affordable, but with the cost of land acquisition and construction, affordability is virtually impossible to meet,” said Deputy Mayor Mark J. Schwartz. “In the case of 1425 Teaneck Road, we were able to leverage the asset the town owns, the land, to remove the major hurdle to affordability. While it took years, we are excited to move this project forward.”
“For far too long, many seniors had to choose between a house they had outgrown or an apartment that didn’t meet their needs,” said Councilman Keith Kaplan. “But our seniors have earned better choices—and now, that choice is affordable and fits their lifestyle. Teaneck is listening to our seniors and we will continue to do so for decades to come.”
Rising in place of the former public works building will be an attractively landscaped five-story building. Expected to open within the next 18 months, it will have 36 one-bedroom and four two-bedroom apartments, one of which is reserved for an on-site building maintenance supervisor.
Other amenities include:
- Community center
- Ground-level parking
- Rooftop garden and sitting area
- Elevator
- Accessible-design features
- Walkable location to shops
- Bus stop at the front door
The new age-friendly facility will offer health, wellness and social engagement programming for tenants and older adults throughout Teaneck. Many government agencies and nonprofit providers have already committed to providing services at the site including:
- Township social services department
- Holy Name Medical Center
- Jewish Family and Children’s Services of Northern New Jersey
- Bergen County Division of Senior Services
Adults who are 62 and older who meet federal determined low- and moderate-income guidelines will be eligible to live at the new facility when construction is complete. Rents won’t be finalized until the building is ready for occupancy, but based on current federal guidelines, one-bedroom units would range from $336 a month for extremely low-income tenants to $1,197 for moderate-income older adults. Two-bedroom units would range from $392 to $1,451.
As for the application process, New Jersey’s Council on Affordable Housing (COAH)’s guidelines require that eligibility information, application instructions and other details be widely advertised across the region and that a lottery be held to select qualified applicants.
Age-Friendly Teaneck will organize a housing fair and will coordinate with civic, neighborhood and faith groups to conduct an outreach campaign that will explain application procedures and link residents who need one-on-one assistance with the services and support they need to apply.
