N.J.’s newest affordable housing community has a feature that could transform senior

Virtua Health system and real estate developer The Michael’s Organization opened a $24 million affordable senior housing community in Camden on Thursday that also features on-site primary care.

The 55+ community, dubbed Oliver Station, is the second statewide to benefit from the New Jersey Housing and Mortgage Finance Agency’s Hospital Partnership Subsidy Program. The state program pairs hospitals with experienced residential developers to provide affordable and supportive housing in their communities.

“This trailblazing community will improve the lives of many and set an example for the good that can happen when compassionate, forward-thinking organizations join forces to address societal challenges,” said Dennis W. Pullin, president and CEO of Virtua Health, in a statement sent to NJ Advance Media.

Virtua Health, which operates five New Jersey hospitals, contributed $4.1 million to the project, while the New Jersey Housing and Mortgage Finance Agency provided $4.2 million, according to a press release.

The three-story, mixed-use development is located in the Whitman Park neighborhood of Camden on a formerly unused parcel next to the Port Authority Transit Corporation Speedline’s Ferry Avenue station. The development is also located less than a mile from Virtua Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital, part of Virtua Health, South Jersey’s largest health system.

Designed by local architectural firm Urban Practice, the 47 income-restricted apartments at Oliver Station are available to adults 55 or older earning 60% or less of the area median income. Ten apartments are set aside for seniors who qualify for housing subsidies from the Camden Housing Authority, including five apartments for those experiencing homelessness, according to a press release.

Apartments come in one and two-bedroom layouts outfitted with full kitchens, baths, and new appliances. The building also includes an on-site fitness center, laundry facilities, and a community gathering space.

“Quality housing is the cornerstone of a strong, vibrant, and healthy community,” Camden Mayor Victor Carstarphen said in a statement. “Oliver Station will be the first community in South Jersey of this kind. The project integrates quality affordable senior housing with top-notch health care and focuses on delivering and advancing health equity for residents.”

Carstarphen continued, “This is a place that is safe, stable, dignified, and a place residents can call home. We are so excited to have two great community partners bring affordable homes and direct access to high-quality health care within the community.”

The Michaels Organization, one of the largest owners of affordable housing in the United States, will provide property and asset management for the residential homes.

In addition to the one and two bedroom apartments, the community also features a 5,200-square-foot Virtua Health primary care practice with 10 exam rooms.

The practice will be staffed by at least four or five attending internal-medicine physicians, as well as nurses, medical assistants, and other team members. The practice will also serve as a rotation site for medical residents, according to a press release.

Oliver station is named in honor of two state figures: the Rev. Thomas Clement Oliver, a conductor on the Underground Railroad who once presided over the Macedonia African Methodist Episcopal Church, Camden’s oldest African American institution; and Lt. Gov. Sheila Y. Oliver, who served as commissioner of the Department of Community Affairs and board chair of the New Jersey Housing and Mortgage Finance Agency until her death on Aug. 1, 2023.

“The late Lt. Gov. Sheila Oliver, a champion of housing, health care, and community services, would be proud to see this transformative project come to fruition,” said Melanie R. Walter, executive director of the New Jersey Housing and Mortgage Finance Agency.

The Hospital Partnership Subsidy Pilot Program was announced jointly with the New Jersey Hospital Association in 2018. The program was allocated $12 million and plans to fund four or five developments. These projects are expected to create over 250 units of affordable housing and over 50 units of required permanent supportive housing.

Under the program, New Jersey Housing and Mortgage Finance Agency will provide subsidy funding of up to $4 million per project. Requests for funding above that amount are considered on a case-by-case basis and subject to approval by the agency’s board.

The first development of this kind opened last year in Paterson. Barclay Place is a 56-unit housing community where supportive services are offered by St. Joseph’s Health.