Title
Dept/ Agency: Economic and Housing Development
Action: ( ) Ratifying (X) Authorizing ( ) Amending
Type of Service: Execute Affordable Housing Trust Fund Grant Agreement under the Homeownership Development Program
Purpose: To authorize the execution of an Affordable Housing Trust Fund Grant Agreement with Four Quarter Partners, LLC, to provide financial assistance from the City’s Affordable Housing Trust Fund for the new construction of two (2) two-family homes, consisting of four (4) residential units at 276 South 9th Street (Block 1782, Lot 67.02) and 278 South 9th Street (Block 1782, 67.01), Newark, New Jersey (West Ward), under the City’s Homeownership Development Program, to create affordable homeownership opportunities for income-qualified households earning at or below eighty percent (80%) of the Area Median Income (AMI), subject to a twenty (20) year affordability period
Entity Name: Four Quarter Partners, LLC
Entity Address: 76 Academy Court, Bedminster, New Jersey 07921
Grant Amount: $676,000.00
Funding Source: Affordable Housing Trust Fund
Contract Period: Forty-Eight (48) months from the date of adoption by the Municipal Council, subject to the terms and conditions of the Affordable Housing Trust Fund Agreement.
Contract Basis: ( ) Bid ( ) State Vendor ( ) Prof. Ser. ( ) EUS
( ) Fair & Open ( ) No Reportable Contributions ( X ) RFP ( ) RFQ
( ) Private Sale (X) Grant ( ) Sub-recipient ( ) n/a
List of Property:
(Address/Block/Lot/Ward)
278 South 9th Street/Block 1781/Lot 67.01/West Ward
276 South 9th Street/Block 1781/Lot 67.02/West Ward
Additional Information:
The City of Newark issued a Request for Proposals on August 20, 2024, under its Homeownership Development Program, allocating funds from the Affordable Housing Trust Fund to support the development of affordable homeownership. Four Quarter Partners, LLC submitted a proposal in response to the RFP and was selected to receive financial assistance.
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WHEREAS, the City of Newark (the “City”) is committed to increasing the availability of affordable housing, expanding homeownership opportunities for low- and moderate-income households, promoting neighborhood revitalization, and encouraging residential investment throughout the City; and
WHEREAS, the City established the Affordable Housing Trust Fund pursuant to Chapter 10:24 of the Revised General Ordinances of the City of Newark, as amended, to provide financial assistance for the development, rehabilitation, and preservation of affordable housing, including affordable homeownership opportunities for eligible households; and
WHEREAS, on August 20, 2024, the City, through its Department of Economic and Housing Development (the “Department”), issued a Request for Proposals (“RFP”) for the Homeownership Development Program (the “Program”), making available Three Million Dollars and Zero Cents ($3,000,000.00) from the City’s Affordable Housing Trust Fund to provide financial assistance to qualified for-profit and nonprofit developers for the development of affordable homeownership opportunities within the City; and
WHEREAS, the purpose of the Program is to provide financial assistance to developers undertaking projects that will create affordable homeownership opportunities within the City and assist with eligible project development costs, thereby promoting increased access to homeownership for low- and moderate-income households; and
WHEREAS, pursuant to the RFP, eligible projects include new construction, substantial rehabilitation, and projects currently under construction involving single-family homes, multifamily dwellings containing up to four (4) units, or condominiums, with Program funds available for eligible site preparation, development, and related hard and soft construction costs; and
WHEREAS, the RFP requires that, upon completion, properties developed with Program assistance be sold to owner-occupants whose household incomes do not exceed eight percent (80%) of Area Median Income (“AMI”), that such properties serve as the purchasers’ primary residences, and that the properties remain affordable for a period of twenty (20) years; and
WHEREAS, the RFP established a competitive selection process pursuant to which the Department would assess proposals for eligibility and a selection committee would review complete submissions based upon established evaluation criteria, including developer capacity, financial feasibility, project readiness, and the proposed development site; and
WHEREAS, Four Quarter Partners, LLC, a New Jersey limited liability company, with a business address of 76 Academy Court, Bedminster, New Jersey 07921 (the “Entity”), submitted an application on September 23, 2024, in response to the RFP, seeking financial assistance for the construction of affordable homeownership housing in the City’s West Ward; and
WHEREAS, the Entity proposed the construction of new residential housing on properties located on South 9th Street, in Newark, New Jersey, including the properties commonly known as 276 and 278 South 9th Street, Newark, New Jersey (the “Project”); and
WHEREAS, the Project, as selected for funding by the Department, consists of the new construction of two (2) two-family homes, containing a total of four (4) residential units, at 276 and 278 South 9th Street, Newark, New Jersey, to provide affordable homeownership opportunities in accordance with the requirements of the Program; and
WHEREAS, the Department subsequently selected the Entity to receive financial assistance in the amount of Six Hundred Seventy-Six Thousand Dollars and Zero Cents ($676,000.00) for the Project; and
WHEREAS, on January 23, 2025, the Department notified the Entity that it had been selected to receive Six Hundred Seventy-Six Thousand Dollars and Zero Cents ($676,000.00) in financial assistance under the Program for the new construction of two (2) two-family homes at 276 and 278 South 9th Street, Newark, New Jersey, contingent upon the Entity’s completion of all applicable pre-contractual requirements and approval by the Newark Municipal Council; and
WHEREAS, the Department desires to provide the financial assistance to the Entity from the City’s Affordable Housing Trust Fund in an amount not to exceed Six Hundred Seventy-Six Thousand Dollars and Zero Cents ($676,000.00), to assist with eligible costs associated with the construction of the Project, in accordance with the requirements of the Program; and
WHEREAS, the City intends to enter into an Affordable Housing Trust Fund Grant Agreement (the “Agreement”) with the Entity, which shall establish the terms and conditions governing the award; and
WHEREAS, the Agreement shall require that the Project comply with the affordability requirements established under the Program, including the requirement that the properties be sold to eligible owner-occupants earning at or below eighty percent (80%) of the AMI, serve as the purchasers’ primary residence, and remain affordable for a period of twenty (20) years, with such requirements to be secured through appropriate affordability controls and recorded instruments; and
WHEREAS, the Department has determined that the proposed financial assistance with advance the City’s affordable housing objectives by facilitating the construction of new affordable homeownership housing, increasing access to homeownership for income-qualified households, and promoting residential investment in the City’s West Ward; and
WHEREAS, the Municipal Council finds that the proposed award of financial assistance serves a valid public purpose and is consistent with the objectives of the City’s Affordable Housing Trust Fund and Homeownership Development Program.
NOW, THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED BY THE MUNICIPAL COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF NEWARK, NEW JERSEY, THAT:
1. The Mayor and/or his designee, the Deputy Mayor/Director of the Department of Economic and Housing Development, are hereby authorized, directed and empowered to enter into and execute an Affordable Housing Trust Fund Grant Agreement with Four Quarters Partners, LLC (the “Entity”), a New Jersey limited liability company, having its principal place of business at 76 Academy Court, Bedminster, New Jersey 07921, for financial assistance from the City’s Affordable Housing Trust Fund in the amount of Six Hundred Seventy-Six Thousand Dollars and Zero Cents ($676,000.00) to subsidize the development and construction of two (2) two-family homes at 278 South 9th Street (Block 1782, 67.01) and 276 South 9th Street (Block 1782, Lot 67.02), Newark, New Jersey (West Ward), for sale to owner-occupants whose household income does not exceed eighty-percent (80%) of the AMI that will serve as the purchasers’ primary residences, and shall remain affordable for a period of twenty (20) years.
2. The Deputy Mayor/Director of the Department of Economic and Housing Development is hereby authorized to establish a declaration of covenants, conditions, and restrictions to ensure that the Project remains affordable for a period of twenty (20) years in accordance with Program. Said covenants, conditions, and restrictions shall run with the land and bind the Entity and any subsequent purchasers and owners, their heirs, executors, administrators and assigns, and all persons claiming by, through, or under their heirs, executors, administrators, and assigns with the Agreement for a period of twenty (20) years.
3. The Deputy Mayor/Director of the Department of Economic and Housing Development is hereby authorized to establish and record a declaration of covenants, conditions, and restrictions to ensure that the City shall be repaid the full amount of the Affordable Housing Trust Funds disbursed to the Entity upon the occurrence of an event of default under the Agreement by the Entity by requiring the Entity to execute a separate Mortgage and Security Agreement (the “Mortgage”) and Note (the “Note”) for the full amount of funding provided to the Entity in the Agreement for a term of twenty (20) years commencing after the date on which construction of the Project is completed pursuant to the Agreement. Said covenants, conditions, and restrictions shall run with the land and bind the Entity and any subsequent purchasers and owners, their heirs, executors, administrators and assigns, and all persons claiming by, through, or under their heirs, executors, administrators and assigns during the term of the Agreement. The Mortgage shall secure repayment of the Note.
4. The City shall be responsible for the recordation of the final fully executed Agreement and the related Mortgage and any amendments thereto in the Office of the Essex County Register’s Office.
5. The Deputy Mayor/Director of the Department of Economic and Housing Development is hereby authorized to effectuate certain business terms and conditions related to the Agreement, as amended, as permitted by New Jersey Law, and may enter into subordination agreements, estoppel certificates, access and right of entry agreements and other relevant documents related to these fund allocations in forms subject to the approval of the Corporation Counsel. In addition, the Deputy Mayor/Director of the Department of Economic and Housing Development is hereby authorized to enter into a maximum of two (2) six-month extensions of the term set forth in the Agreement, as amended, and any contract timelines and milestones contained therein, provided that any contract timelines and milestones are not extended beyond the two (2) permitted six-month extensions, subject to full written disclosure (in the form of a signed memorandum to be submitted prior to adoption) to the Newark Municipal Council by the Deputy Mayor/Director of the Department of Economic and Housing Development and the approval of the Corporation Counsel.
6. Disbursement of the Affordable Housing Trust Funds for the Project in the amount of Six Hundred Seventy-Six Thousand Dollars and Zero Cents ($676,000.00) shall be subject to the terms and conditions set forth in the Agreement, which is attached hereto and a made a part hereof.
7. The Entity must remain in compliance with Municipal, State, and Federal Laws, including, but not limited to, the City of Newark's Minority Set-Aside Ordinance (6S&Fd adopted April 5, 1995) and its Affirmative Action Plan (7Rbp adopted March 1, 1995) and Federal Executive Order 11246 (as amended by Executive Orders 1137 and 12086) with respect to the award of goods and services. The Entity has agreed to ensure that a minimum of 40% of the workers employed during the construction of the project shall be Newark residents and that 30% of all contractors, subcontractors, and suppliers shall be Newark companies.
8. Attached hereto is a Certification of Funds from the Municipal Comptroller of the City of Newark, which states:
a) there are sufficient funds in the aggregate amount of SIX HUNDRED SEVENTY-SIX THOUSAND DOLLARS AND ZERO CENTS ($676,000.00) for the purpose set forth herein and above; and that the line appropriation of Official Budget which shall be charged as follows:
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Business Unit |
Department |
Div./Proj. |
Activity |
Account # |
Budget Ref.: |
Amount |
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NW026 |
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|
30350 |
B2026 |
$676,000.00 |
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STATEMENT
This Resolution authorizes the Mayor and/or Deputy Mayor/Director of the Department of Economic and Housing Development to enter into and execute an Affordable Housing Trust Fund Grant Agreement with Four Quarter Partner, LLC, for the award of Six Hundred Seventy-Six Thousand Dollars and Zero Cents ($676,000.00) from the City’s Affordable Housing Trust Fund under the Homeownership Development Program. The funding will assist with the new construction of two (2) two-family homes at 276 and 278 South 9th Street, Newark, New Jersey (West Ward), to provide affordable homeownership opportunities for eligible households earning at or below eighty percent (80%) of the Area Median Income, subject to a twenty (20) year affordability period.