New Jersey is working with University Hospital in Newark, N.J., on a $41.1 million affordable housing project, Gov. Phil Murphy said May 19.
The New Jersey Housing and Mortgage Finance Agency's hospital partnership subsidy program allows hospitals to partner with residential developers to set up affordable housing in their communities. This includes homes for people who frequently use emergency services.
Under the program, the state housing agency matches funds put forth by participating hospitals to build rental apartments for low- and moderate-income families. The hospital partnership subsidy program already has partnerships with St. Joseph's Health in Paterson, N.J., and RWJBarnabas Health in Newark.
Shereef Elnahal, MD, president and CEO of University Hospital, said the initiative "helps us lead into our long-term vision chipping away at upstream, social determinants of health. This also brings our campus closer to meeting the obligations of the Newark agreements, created in the wake of a different period of racial tension and re-dedicating this hospital to its community."
L+M Development Partners, Type A Projects and MSquared will work with University Hospital on a 78-apartment project in Newark's West Ward that will include a ground-floor clinic. University Hospital is contributing $3 million to the project, which is expected to be complete in spring 2023.