Eastern Pacific Development, in collaboration with the Cumberland Empowerment Zone and Gateway Community Action Partnership, is planning a ground-breaking event for the River Grove Apartments, 68 affordable residential rental properties in the Southeast Gateway Neighborhood in the City of Bridgeton on Wednesday, July 31 at 11 a.m.

  The event will be held at the recently completed community center, 44 Spruce St., Bridgeton, and was the first step in the 68-unit, River Grove Apartments that include 34 duplexes all containing three-bedroom apartments, 52 units will have attached garages. The project includes 40 rental units subsidized by project-based rental or operating subsidy provided by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the remaining 28 units will be rented at market rates.

  Financing for the project will be generated through New Jersey Housing Mortgage Financing Authority Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) program.  USDA has also committed a $3 million Permanent Loan, at an interest rate of one (1%) percent per annum, amortizing over a 33-year term.  In addition, the City of Bridgeton has provided a Payment in Lieu of Taxes, a PILOT, at five (5%) percent per annum.

  The Project is located in the Southeast Gateway Neighborhood, a low-income census tract in which the median family income, $22,027, is 41% of the median income for the Metropolitan Statistical Area (“MSA”) that includes Cumberland County.

  The designated redeveloper for the Project is Eastern Pacific Development.  With more than 25 years in the business of development and construction, Eastern Pacific Development, the Developer, and Brookfield Construction, the General Contractor, both of which are solely owned and managed by Hans Lampart, have been successfully developing, building and operating affordable housing for senior citizens, as well as families.  Both companies founded by Lampart, specialize in the highest quality affordable housing and apartment complexes for seniors. Eastern Pacific and Brookfield look forward to working with communities on the benefits and needs of affordable housing, which can often utilize some of the community’s older, and often, deteriorated buildings and apartment complexes.

  Construction funding is being provided by a construction loan from TD Bank and Equity from Enterprise Community Investment, Inc.

  Since its inception in 1999, the Cumberland Empowerment Zone Corporation (Co-Developer) has helped attract more than $270 million in public and private funding for the advancement of companies and their employees and for the preservation of communities and their neighborhoods.

  By supporting local businesses and economic development projects directly with initial investments now surpassing more than $27 million, the Cumberland Empowerment Zone Corporation program continues to be recognized as one of the most successful Empowerment Zones in the nation.

  The Cumberland Empowerment Zone Corporation committed its support to Gateway Community Action Partnership 12 years ago toward the revitalization of the Southeast Gateway neighborhood of which the River Grove Apartments’ project is a component of that effort.

  Tri-County Community Action Agency, Inc., (T/A Gateway Community Action Partnership (Gateway CAP)) (Co-Developer) is a 501(c)(3) entity and is the federally designated Community Action Partnership for Cumberland, Gloucester, and Salem counties in southern New Jersey. Gateway CAP operates programs in six core areas: child care, health services, literacy, housing, nutrition/education, and social services serving more than 50,000 clients annually in not only Cumberland, Gloucester, and Salem counties, but Atlantic, Cape May, Camden, Mercer counties (southern New Jersey), as well as, Philadelphia. Our signature programs: Head Start and WIC are the largest programs of their type in New Jersey.

  Recognizing a need for affordable and amenable housing for migrant families Gateway CAP was inspired to co-develop the River Grove Apartments, in partnership with Eastern Pacific Development and the Cumberland Empowerment Zone. The vision expanded to include meeting the affordable housing need of Bridgeton’s low-income families. The Southeast Gateway neighborhood was ideally targeted as the River Grove Apartments’ location as a substantial part of the revitalization effort that was initiated in 2005 through financial support from Wachovia Regional Foundation, now Wells Fargo Regional Foundation. 

For leasing information contact EPAC Property Management at 1-877-618-1821 or email: rivergroveleasing@epacdevco.com