The Trenton Housing Authority and the city of Trenton were awarded a $15.6 million Choice Neighborhoods Implementation Grant to improve the North Trenton/Battle Monument Neighborhood and Mayor Donnelly Homes.
The award from President Joe Biden’s administration will redevelop distressed housing with high-quality mixed-income options and provide residents with services focused on income, health and education.
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Assistant Secretary for Congressional and Intergovernmental Affairs Kimberly McClain traveled to Trenton for the announcement and to present a ceremonial check to Trenton Housing Authority Executive Director Jelani Garrett and Trenton Mayor Reed Gusciora.
U.S. Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-12th Dist.), HUD Regional Administrator Alicka Ampry-Samuel, Donnelly Homes Resident Council President Antoinnette Ritchie and Trenton Housing Authority board of commissioners Chairwoman Darlene Weldon-Gordon delivered remarks at the presentation.
“Choice neighborhoods is one of HUD’s signature programs. It has transformed hundreds of communities around the country, creating and preserving housing and redeveloping distressed neighborhoods,” McClain said. ”I am thrilled to join the Trenton leaders and partners who worked to create a Choice Neighborhoods plan that will transform the North Trenton/Battle Monument neighborhood.”
“Trenton leaders and partners worked arduously to create a plan that will transform area housing and the adjacent neighborhood to ensure families have homes they are proud of and opportunities for their families,” Ampry-Samuel said. “This Choice Neighborhoods award and private investments will catalyze a new era for this beloved Trenton neighborhood.”
Choice Neighborhoods is HUD’s signature program and the largest place-based program in the federal government, with a comprehensive “Housing, People and Neighborhood” approach to neighborhood investment and a critical tool to preserve and expand the supply of affordable housing. The Choice Neighborhoods program has led to new businesses, parks and grocery stores in historically disinvested neighborhoods nationwide. Resident incomes are increasing across most sites, in some cases doubling.
In 2019, HUD awarded the Trenton Housing Authority and the city of Trenton a $1.3 million Choice Neighborhoods Planning Grant to gather partners and input from area residents and design a plan. HUD awarded the Choice Neighborhoods Implementation Grant as a result of their extraordinary collaboration and vision for this community.
Built in 1941, the Mayor Donnelly Homes public housing community is the oldest public housing development in the Garden State’s Capital City. Property Resources Corp. will redevelop the Mayor Donnelly Homes site into a new mixed-income, mixed-use community, bringing up to 639 new high-quality units to the North Trenton/Battle Monument neighborhood. The new housing will be developed in five phases and will incorporate excellence in design and be energy-efficient, sustainable and climate-resilient. The design includes green and open spaces, playgrounds, community spaces, spacious sidewalks, pocket plazas and new streets.
Choice Neighborhoods funding will support façade improvements for homeowners, provide grants for legacy businesses and help grow small and minority-owned businesses through a business incubator, and a series of pedestrian safety measures. The plan also includes affordable homeownership opportunities aimed at creating 37 homes. The Transformation Plan includes neighborhood amenities at improvements at Martin Luther King Park, and at the Capital City Sports Complex.
Trenton’s Choice Neighborhood partners include Trenton Public Schools, Capital Health, the Smith Family Foundation, Trenton Health Team and the New Jersey Department of Treasury.
