By DONALD WITTKOWSKI
Ocean City’s public housing agency announced Tuesday that it expects to start construction April 1 on a long-awaited project providing affordable housing for senior citizens who are now living in a flood-prone area of town.
Known as Speitel Commons, the proposed 32-unit project will replace the Ocean City Housing Authority’s aging Pecks Beach Village complex on Fourth Street.
Jacqueline Jones, the housing authority’s executive director, said construction is expected to take about 12 months to complete.
The authority revealed the April 1 groundbreaking date during its monthly board meeting Tuesday. The announcement follows the approval of a $4.5 million mortgage from the New Jersey Housing and Mortgage Finance Agency to fund a major chunk of the project.
Rick Ginnetti, a consultant for the housing authority, said that while the funding is technically called a mortgage, it is actually closer to a grant. The authority will make no principal or interest payments on the mortgage, which will simply disappear after five years, he said in an interview in September.
A construction contract of $6.9 million was awarded by the authority in July for the Speitel Commons project, named in honor of the agency’s late board member, Edmond C. Speitel Sr.
However, Ginnetti explained that the full cost of the project will be closer to $8 million, including construction, planning, engineering, design, permitting, insurance and the expense of relocating residents from Pecks Beach Village into the new building.
In March, City Council approved a $6.6 million bond ordinance to build or rehabilitate affordable housing sites for senior citizens and low-income families. The projects will help Ocean City meet its state-mandated obligation to provide its “fair share” of affordable housing as part of a court settlement in 2018.
One of those projects is the Speitel Commons complex. The city is expected to contribute more than $2 million toward the project. Once the senior citizens are moved into the new housing development, the flood-prone Pecks Beach Village units on the north side of Fourth Street will be demolished.
In addition, a shared-services agreement with the city will also allow the housing authority to undertake a $2.7 million rehabilitation of 61 units of affordable housing at its Bayview Manor complex.
Scott Halliday, a housing authority board member and chairman of the redevelopment committee, said demolition work at Pecks Beach Village will cost about $150,000 to $160,000, significantly lower than the initial estimate of about $225,000.
In the planning stages for the past few years, the Speitel Commons project will be built on a site that currently serves as a parking lot for the Bayview Manor complex at Sixth Street and West Avenue.
Approval of the $4.5 million Housing and Mortgage Finance Agency funding has set the stage for construction to begin. The housing authority expects to finalize the deal with the HMFA in March, Halliday said.
It was Halliday who announced the April 1 groundbreaking date at Tuesday’s board meeting.
“Save your dates for the calendar,” he told the board members.
Bob Barr, a city councilman who also serves as the housing authority’s board chairman, said members of the public will be invited to the groundbreaking ceremony.
“We’ll make it a public affair as much as we can,” Barr said.
Jones, the authority’s executive director, indicated there could be some wiggle room with the April 1 groundbreaking date because of the need to complete a series of financial and regulatory steps before construction begins.
“Let’s hope these dates hold,” she said.
The housing authority plans to hold two meetings on Tuesday, Dec. 17, with residents of Pecks Beach Village and Bayview Manor to update them on the Speitel Commons project.
The first meeting is scheduled for 10 a.m. at the authority’s administrative office at 204 Fourth Street. A second meeting will follow at noon at Bayview Manor at 635 West Ave. The second meeting will also include a discussion of proposed renovations to the Bayview Manor complex.
