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New building helps families attain dream

Sunday, October 21, 2007  

Space has been tight for John and Jacqueline Diaz, who live with three sons in a one-bedroom apartment in Fairview. But the family is about to move to an affordable, three-bedroom condo in a new building built by a non-profit group in Cliffside Park.

"I'm very happy for my sons," Jacqueline Diaz said at a recent ceremony celebrating the completion of the building, Laurel Gardens, on Walker Street. Her boys, ages 3, 8 and 10, dressed for the occasion in suits and ties.

The building, which replaced an old warehouse, was built by the Palisades Park-based Madeline Corp., a non-profit housing group. It cost a total of about $2.3 million and was funded by several sources, including federal housing grants administered by Bergen County, the town of Cliffside Park, and the United Way of Bergen, as well as a bank loan.

The condos range from a one-bedroom for $85,000 to three-bedroom units for $198,000. The buyers, who met federal income limits for affordable housing, were chosen by lottery from about 150 applicants. Under the federal rules, low-income buyers have annual incomes of no more than $43,750 for a family of four, while moderate-income buyers make up to $59,600.

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Five of the buyers were helped by Bergen County's American Dream program, which helps with down payments, closing costs and an interest-free mortgage that closes the gap when the first mortgage can't quite cover the need. Homeowners pay that mortgage back when they sell.

"We really drive down the cost of housing," said Joseph Rutch, director of the Bergen County Division of Community Development, which runs the American Dream program.

The United Way of Bergen County helped with a $700,000-plus interest-free loan, said President Thomas M. Toronto.

"Affordable housing is the biggest human service need in the county, and has been for 20 years," Toronto said. To focus on the issue, the United Way is partnering with non-profit developers and providing financing for property acquisition and construction.

Toronto calls this type of housing "starter homes for working poor families." And he likes to see the construction of condos, rather than rental apartments, because owning a home is "a stabilizing force in people's lives."

New affordable housing should be solidly built and durable, he added.

"These folks deserve to live in housing stock that is affordable, but it doesn't mean it has to be second-rate," he said. Laurel Gardens, he said, "does not look any different from market-based housing."

The building has a stone and stucco finish that fits with the neighborhood, a tightly packed urban area that mixes houses with retail and warehouse space. The Marburn curtain store is spread among several buildings nearby, and in fact, an old Marburn warehouse once stood on the site of Laurel Gardens.

It's not luxury housing, Toronto acknowledged. For example, the kitchen cabinets are not solid wood and the counters are Formica, rather than the granite found in high-end new construction. In addition, units have only one bathroom, not the multiple baths found in pricey condos.

Nonetheless, the new owners are happy.

"I think this is one of the biggest moments of my life," said Armando Lopez, 57, who won the right to buy a two-bedroom unit. Lopez emigrated from El Salvador 27 years ago. "After renting my whole life in this country, now I'm getting a home. It's gorgeous. My wife is so excited."

Lopez works two full-time jobs - in the service department of a car dealer during the day, and as a concierge/security guard in an apartment house at night. His wife, who has health problems, works part time as a housekeeper.

As for the Diaz family, they plan to put the three boys in one bedroom and use the extra bedroom as a quiet space for homework.
James Diaz, 10, already has an idea for decorating the boys' room. He thinks the ceiling should be painted sky blue and decorated with stick-on, glow-in-the-dark stars, so it looks like the sky at night, too. And maybe he and his two younger brothers, Justin and Jonah, will hang planes from the ceiling.

E-mail: lynn@northjersey.com

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Dream merchants
Bergen County's American Dream helps low-income working families buy homes, allowing up to $65,000 toward a second mortgage, which must be repaid when the house is sold, and up to $15,000 in matching funds toward a third mortgage, which will become a grant after the home has been the principal residence for 10 years. An additional $2,500 may be available for closing costs.

For more information, call 201-336-7200.