State Funding Approved for Ocean City Affordable Housing Project

Ocean City’s affordable housing agency has received state approval for a major piece of the funding for what will be its largest project ever.

The New Jersey Housing and Mortgage Finance Agency has signed off on a $9 million funding package of grants, loans and tax credits for the Ocean City Housing Authority’s proposed 60-unit Pecks Beach Village project.

Bob Barr, the housing authority’s chairman, said the next step is to finalize the funding agreement.

“The staff is working diligently behind the scenes,” Barr said of efforts to complete the agreement.

The HMFA was originally supposed to approve the $9 million funding package in December, but a series of delays pushed back the vote until the agency’s March 20 board meeting.

“This was the biggest hurdle,” Barr explained of the wait for funding approval.

Financing for the project will consist of a mix of grants and loans from the HMFA, funding from the city of Ocean City and tax credits given to private investors. The project will help Ocean City meet its state-mandated obligation to provide its “fair share” of affordable housing under a court settlement in 2018.

Last September, the housing authority awarded a $23 million construction contract for the project, which will consist of 15 duplex-style buildings containing four units each. It will be built on the north side of Fourth Street.

    Vacant land on the north side of Fourth Street is the site for the proposed housing complex.
  

It is not yet clear when construction will begin, but Barr expressed hope that it will be by the end of the year. Once construction begins, it is expected to take about 18 months to finish the project, according to housing authority officials.

The existing 40-unit Pecks Beach Village complex on the south side of Fourth Street will be demolished when the new project is completed. Barr noted that the existing Pecks Beach Village complex was built in the 1960s and is located in a part of Ocean City vulnerable to flooding during storms.

The new project is a centerpiece of the authority’s strategy to modernize its affordable housing stock with new, attractive units for families now living in Pecks Beach Village.

“It gives us a chance to bring our families into state-of-the-art housing. When these are built, there will be no concerns about flooding, even in the most severe storms,” Barr said of the new project.

Barr and other officials at the housing authority have repeatedly stressed that the development will reflect the agency’s philosophy to build new projects that are compatible with the surrounding neighborhoods.

“Our goal is for people to drive by and not even know that it has been assimilated into the neighborhood, Barr said.

    The existing Pecks Beach Village housing complex dates to the 1960s.
  

In 2021, the authority completed a nearly $7 million affordable housing project for senior citizens at Sixth Street and West Avenue in downtown Ocean City. Dubbed Speitel Commons, the 32-unit building was hailed as a success for integrating affordable housing in the heart of Ocean City with attractive architecture that blended in with the surrounding neighborhoods.

Last year, the authority built a new type of affordable housing for Ocean City featuring attractively designed duplexes scattered within three residential neighborhoods. The $4.2 million project included five duplexes consisting of a total of 10 affordable housing units for low- or moderate-income families to rent.

Two duplexes were built at 3300 Bay Ave. at the former American Legion post property, another two at 240-244 Haven Ave. and the fifth at 224 Simpson Ave. All of the duplexes are close to the bay either in the north end or midsection of town.