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AN ORDINANCE GRANTING A THIRTY (30) YEAR TAX ABATEMENT TO BRUEN HOLDINGS URBAN RENEWAL, LLC, 15 MELNICK DRIVE, P.O. BOX 955, MONROE, NEW YORK 10952, FOR A PROJECT TO CONSTRUCT A NEW (11) STORY BUILDING CONSISTING OF APPROXIMATELY (115) MARKET RATE RESIDENTIAL RENTAL UNITS, (18) AFFORDABLE HOUSING RENTAL UNITS, OF WHICH (2) UNITS SHALL BE RESTRICTED TO TENANTS AT 40% OF AREA MEDIAN INCOME (“AMI”), (6) UNITS SHALL BE RESTRICTED TO TENANTS AT 60% AMI AND (10) UNITS SHALL BE RESTRICTED TO TENANTS AT 80% AMI AND 2,780 SQUARE FEET OF COMMERCIAL SPACE LOCATED AT 50-56 BRUEN STREET AND 59-65 MCWHORTER STREET, NEWARK, NEW JERSEY 07105 AND IDENTIFIED ON THE OFFICIAL TAX MAP OF THE CITY OF NEWARK, AS BLOCK 194, LOTS 10 AND 26 (MERGED WITH LOT 10) (EAST WARD).
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WHEREAS, Bruen Holdings Urban Renewal, LLC, 15 Melnick Drive, P.O. Box 955, Monroe, New York 10952, filed an application with the Mayor of the City of Newark seeking a long term tax abatement under the Long Term Tax Exemption Law, N.J.S.A. 40A:20-1 et seq. for a thirty (30) year term for a project to construct a new eleven (11) story building consisting of approximately one hundred fifteen (115) market rate residential rental units, eighteen (18) affordable housing rental units, of which two (2) units shall be restricted to tenants at forty (40%) of Area Median Income (“AMI”), six (6) units shall be restricted to tenants at sixty (60%) AMI and ten (10) units shall be restricted to tenants at eighty (80%) AMI and 2,780 square feet of commercial space located at 50-56 Bruen Street and 59-65 McWhorter Street, Newark, New Jersey 07105 and identified on the Official Tax Map of the City of Newark, as Block 194, Lots 10 and 26, which is merged to Lot 10 (collectively, the “Project”); and
WHEREAS, the Mayor of the City of Newark 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, in accordance with Ordinance 6PSF-a, adopted on May 4, 2011, Bruen Holdings Urban Renewal, LLC has filed with the City a sworn statement that it has not made any contribution in violation of said Ordinance; 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 Bruen Holdings Urban Renewal, LLC, 15 Melnick Drive, P.O. Box 955, Monroe, New York 10952 (the “Entity”), for the development, maintenance and operation of the Project described in the application is hereby approved in accordance with the recommendation of the Mayor of the City of Newark for a project to construct a new eleven (11) story building consisting of approximately one hundred fifteen (115) market rate residential rental units, eighteen (18) affordable housing rental units, of which two (2) units shall be restricted to tenants at forty (40%) of Area Median Income (“AMI”), six (6) units shall be restricted to tenants at sixty (60%) AMI and ten (10) units shall be restricted to tenants at eighty (80%) AMI and 2,780 square feet of commercial space located at 50-56 Bruen Street and 59-65 McWhorter Street, Newark, New Jersey 07105 and identified on the Official Tax Map of the City of Newark, as Block 194, Lots 10 and 26, which is merged to Lot 10 (collectively, the “Project”).
2. The abatement from taxation on improvements is hereby granted to the Entity for a period of thirty (30) 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 enter into and execute, on the City’s behalf, the Financial Agreement in the form attached hereto.
4. The Director of the Department of Finance shall file an executed copy of the Financial Agreement authorized by this Ordinance in the Office of 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 Acting 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 7.5% of the Annual Gross Revenue generated from the Income Restricted Units, 10% of the Annual Gross Revenue generated from the Market Rate Units, and 15% of the Annual Gross Revenue generated from the Commercial units and shall increase in phases as set forth more fully within 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, 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; and
(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 8 above. This employment report shall be filed with the Director of the Department of Finance, the Acting City Clerk, and the Deputy Mayor/Director of the Department of Economic and Housing Development; and
(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; and
(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; and
(e) The Entity shall receive a favorable review and certification from the appropriate City departments and agencies, pursuant to City Ordinance 6S&Fd, adopted on October 21, 1992, as amended.
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 Office of the City Clerk 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 Bruen Holdings Urban Renewal, LLC, 15 Melnick Drive, P.O. Box 955, Monroe, New York 10952, pursuant to the Long Term Tax Exemption Law, N.J.S.A. 40A:20-1 et seq., for a thirty (30) year term for a project to construct a new (11) story building consisting of approximately (115) market rate residential rental units, (18) affordable housing rental units, of which (2) units shall be restricted to tenants at 40% of Area Median Income (“AMI”), (6) units shall be restricted to tenants at 60% AMI and (10) units shall be restricted to tenants at 80% AMI and 2,780 square feet of commercial space located at 50-56 Bruen Street and 59-65 McWhorter Street, Newark, New Jersey 07105 and identified on the Official Tax Map of the City of Newark, as Block 194, Lots 10 and 26, which is merged to Lot 10. (East Ward)