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AN ORDINANCE GRANTING A TWENTY (20) YEAR TAX ABATEMENT TO 440 ELIZABETH NJ URBAN RENEWAL, LLC, 33 OSTILLA AVENUE, NEW SQUARE, NEW JERSEY 10977, FOR A PROJECT TO RENOVATE AND REHABILITATE A VACANT AND EXISTING TWENTY-FIVE-STORY HIGH-RISE RESIDENTIAL BUILDING CONSISTING OF (216) UNITS, OF WHICH (190) UNITS SHALL BE MARKET RATE RESIDENTIAL RENTAL UNITS, CONSISTING OF (48) ONE-BEDROOM UNITS, (120) TWO-BEDROOM UNITS AND (48) THREE-BEDROOM UNITS (THE “MARKET RATE UNITS”) AND (26) UNITS SHALL BE AFFORDABLE HOUSING RENTAL UNITS, OF WHICH (16) ONE-BEDROOM UNITS SHALL BE RESTRICTED TO TENANTS AT 80% OF THE AREA MEDIAN INCOME (“AMI”), (5) TWO-BEDROOM UNITS SHALL BE RESTRICTED TO TENANTS AT 60% OF AMI, AND (5) THREE-BEDROOM UNITS SHALL BE RESTRICTED TO TENANTS AT 80% OF AMI (THE “INCOME RESTRICTED UNITS”), A (104) PARKING SPACE GARAGE, AND 107 SQUARE FEET OF FLOOR AREA SPACE ON THE GROUND FLOOR CONTAINING A RECEPTION AREA, GYM, PARTY ROOM, AN OFFICE, MAIL ROOM, TRASH ROOM, (3) STORAGE ROOMS, LAUNDRY SPACE, MECHANICAL ROOM AND BATHROOMS, LOCATED AT 203-221 MEEKER AVENUE, NEWARK, NEW JERSEY 07114 AND IDENTIFIED ON THE OFFICIAL TAX MAP OF THE CITY OF NEWARK, AS BLOCK 3546.01, LOT 1. (SOUTH WARD)
Deferred 6PSF-c 120424
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WHEREAS, 440 Elizabeth NJ Urban Renewal, LLC, 33 Ostilla Avenue, New Square, New Jersey 10977, filed an application with the Mayor seeking a long term tax abatement under the Long Term Tax Exemption Law, N.J.S.A. 40A:20-1 et seq., for a twenty (20) year term for a project to renovate and rehabilitate a vacant and existing twenty-five (25) story high-rise residential building consisting of two hundred-sixteen (216) units, of which one hundred-ninety (190) units shall be market rate residential rental units, consisting of forty-eight (48) one-bedroom units, one hundred-twenty (120) two--bedroom units and forty-eight (48) three-bedroom units (the “Market Rate Units”) and twenty-six (26) units shall be affordable housing rental units, of which sixteen (16) one-bedroom units shall be restricted to tenants at 80% of the area median income (“AMI”), five (5) two-bedroom units shall be restricted to tenants at 60% of AMI, and five (5) three-bedroom units shall be restricted to tenants at 80% of AMI (the “Income Restricted Units”), a one hundred-four (104) parking space garage, and a one hundred-seven (107) square feet of floor area space on the ground floor containing a reception area, a gym, a party room, an office, a mail room, a trash room, three (3) storage rooms, a laundry space, a mechanical room and bathrooms, located at 203-221 Meeker Avenue, Newark, New Jersey and identified on the city’s tax map as Block 3546.01, Lot 1; and
WHEREAS, the Mayor has submitted the application and proposed Financial Agreement to the Municipal Council with his recommendation thereof, a copy of which is annexed hereto; and
WHEREAS, the Department of Economic and Housing Development has determined pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40A:20-11 that the relative benefits of this Project outweigh any costs associated with this tax exemption and that without the tax abatement granted herein, the Project would not be undertaken.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED BY THE MUNICIPAL COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF NEWARK, NEW JERSEY, THAT:
1. The application of 440 Elizabeth NJ Urban Renewal, LLC, 33 Ostilla Avenue, New Square, New Jersey 10977 (the “Entity”), for a project to renovate and rehabilitate a vacant and existing twenty-five (25) story high-rise residential building consisting of two hundred-sixteen (216) units, of which one hundred-ninety (190) units shall be market rate residential rental units, consisting of forty-eight (48) one-bedroom units, one hundred-twenty (120) two-bedroom units and forty-eight (48) three-bedroom units (the “Market Rate Units”) and twenty-six (26) units shall be affordable housing rental units, of which sixteen (16) one-bedroom units shall be restricted to tenants at 80% of the area median income (“AMI”), five (5) two-bedroom units shall be restricted to tenants at 60% of AMI, and five (5) three-bedroom units shall be restricted to tenants at 80% of AMI (the “Income Restricted Units”), a one hundred-four (104) parking space garage, and a one hundred-seven (107) square feet of floor area space on the ground floor containing a reception area, a gym, a party room, an office, a mail room, a trash room, three (3) storage rooms, a laundry space, a mechanical room and bathrooms, located at 203-221 Meeker Avenue, Newark, New Jersey and identified on the city’s tax map as Block 3546.01, Lot 1 (collectively, the “Project”).
2. The abatement from taxation on improvements is hereby granted to the Entity for a period of twenty (20) years pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40A:20-12, and only so long as the Entity is subject to and complies with the proposed Financial Agreement and the Long Term Tax Exemption Law, as amended and supplemented.
3. The Mayor of the City of Newark is hereby authorized to execute, on the City’s behalf, the Financial Agreement in the form attached hereto.
4. The Director shall file an executed copy of the Financial Agreement authorized by this ordinance in the Office of the City Clerk.
5. The Project, when completed, will conform with all State laws and ordinances of the City of Newark relating to its construction and use.
6. The Affirmative Action Program now on file in the Office of the City Clerk is declared to be a material condition of the Financial Agreement authorized by this ordinance.
7. The Entity shall, in the operation of the Project, comply with all laws so that no person shall be subject to any discrimination because of race, religious principles, color, national origin, or ancestry.
8. The Entity shall file an employment report (herein described below) with the Office of Affirmative Action, who shall forthwith, after receiving the report, send a copy thereof to the City Clerk, and the Office of Affirmative Action shall forthwith investigate the matters contained therein and report its findings to the Municipal Council.
9. The annual service charge shall be based on the 7.5%-15% Annual Gross Revenues from the Project as set forth more fully within Section 4.04 of the Financial Agreement.
10. The Entity shall pay the minimum annual service charge, as calculated pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40A:20-12(b)(2)(e) and the Financial Agreement, in each year in which the annual service charge, as provided in paragraph 9 above, would be less than the minimum annual service charge.
11. The following occurrences and requirements are express conditions of the granting of this tax abatement, to be performed by the Entity, and the failure to comply with these requirements will result in the cancellation of the tax abatement:
(a) The Entity shall not, without prior consent of the Municipal Council of the City of Newark, sell, lease, assign, encumber, subordinate, convey, mortgage, or transfer all, or any part of the Project, so as to sever, disconnect or divide the improvements from the land embraced within the Project;
(b) The Entity shall concomitantly, with the submission of the annual report required of it by N.J.S.A. 40A:20-9(d), attach an employment report under oath, with particulars, stating the manner and the extent to which it has complied with paragraph 8 above. This employment report shall be filed with the Director of Finance, the City Clerk, and the Deputy Mayor/Director of the Department of Economic and Housing Development;
(c) The Entity shall pay all outstanding taxes and all outstanding water and sewer charges within thirty (30) days of the adoption of this ordinance;
(d) The Entity shall submit to the City a copy of its formation documents, as approved by the Department of Community Affairs and filed with the Secretary of State;
(e) The Entity shall receive a favorable review and certification from the appropriate City departments and agencies, pursuant to City Ordinance 6S&Fd, adopted October 21, 1992, as amended, which is codified in City’s Revised Ordinance 10:24-1, et seq.
12. That in any year that the Entity shall fail to make four (4) consecutive land tax payments when due and owing in the manner defined in N.J.S.A. 40A:20-12(b)(2)(e), such delinquency shall render the Entity ineligible for any land tax credits against the annual service charge.
13. The Entity understands and agrees that the revenue projections set forth in the application are estimates and that the actual payments in lieu of taxes to be paid by the Entity to the City shall be determined pursuant to the Financial Agreement to be executed between the Entity and the City of Newark.
14. To the extent of any inconsistency with any prior City ordinance and/or Municipal Code provision governing the granting of long-term tax exemptions, including, inter alia, procedures for application, review and approval, required terms of the financial agreement, required conditions and covenants, limits on duration, means of enforcement, and all other matters whatsoever, such prior City ordinances and/or Municipal Code provisions are hereby waived, but only with respect to this ordinance.
15. Within ten (10) calendar days following the later of the effective date of this Ordinance or the execution of the Financial Agreement by the Entity, the City Clerk's Office shall transmit a certified copy of the Ordinance and Financial Agreement to the Chief Financial Officer of the county and to the County Counsel for informational purposes.
16. This ordinance shall take effect upon final passage and publication in accordance with the laws of the State of New Jersey.
STATEMENT
This ordinance grants a long term tax abatement to 440 Elizabeth NJ Urban Renewal, LLC, 33 Ostilla Avenue, New Square, New Jersey 10977, pursuant to the Long Term Tax Exemption Law, N.J.S.A. 40A:20-1 et seq., for a twenty (20) year term to renovate and rehabilitate a vacant and existing twenty-five (25) story high-rise residential building consisting of two hundred-sixteen (216) units, of which one hundred-ninety (190) units shall be market rate residential rental units and twenty-six (26) units shall be affordable housing rental units, of which sixteen (16) one-bedroom units shall be restricted to tenants at 80% of the area median income (“AMI”), five (5) two-bedroom units shall be restricted to tenants at 60% of AMI, and five (5) three-bedroom units shall be restricted to tenants at 80% of AMI, a one hundred-four (104) parking space garage, and a one hundred-seven (107) square feet of floor area space on the ground floor containing a reception area, gym, party room, an office, mail room, trash room, three (3) storage rooms, laundry space, mechanical room and bathrooms, located at 203-221 Meeker Avenue, Newark, New Jersey and identified on the city’s tax map as Block 3546.01, Lot 1. (South Ward)