MAYOR BARAKA ANNOUNCES NEW JERSEY FUTURE ‘SMART GROWTH AWARD’ F0R INNOVATIVE MIXED AFFORDABLE HOUSING AND HEALTH CARE DEVELOPMENT

Mayor Ras J. Baraka announced today that New Jersey Future, a non-profit dedicated to promoting innovative growth policies in New Jersey, awarded 20 Littleton Avenue a Smart Growth Award for sustainable growth and redevelopment. The building is a mixed-use, mixed-income housing development in Newark’s Fairmount neighborhood. It was built in partnership with University Hospital and features ground-floor healthcare services and 78 units of affordable housing, including some for individuals experiencing homelessness.

“Because optimum human health is dependent on a range of factors, we have focused on combining as many benefits as possible in our current housing environments,” said Mayor Baraka. “20 Littleton Avenue/388 West Market Street is a model for affordable housing with an embedded health care facility that can be replicated throughout Newark and the rest of New Jersey with deliberate, intentional collaboration. I thank the city’s Department of Housing and Economic Development, C+C Apartment Management, L+M Development Partners, the New Jersey Housing and Mortgage Finance Agency, and University Hospital for making this community complex one of the smartest and most compassionate projects in New Jersey.”

“The City of Newark looks forward to many more affordable housing developments that create comfortable, safe, and stable housing with a built-in medical clinic and wellness center that makes healthcare effortlessly accessible and puts health at the center of living,” said the Department of Health and Community Wellness Director Ketlen Baptiste Alsbrook. “Health should never be an afterthought or second-tier consideration in our communities, and this one at 20 Littleton Avenue proves Newark’s commitment to resident wellbeing.”

The development is the second facility created and financed under the New Jersey Housing and Mortgage Finance Agency’s (NJHMFA) Hospital Partnership Subsidy Program. NJHMFA matches funding contributions from participating hospitals and healthcare providers with low-interest subsidy loans that builders and healthcare providers can combine with other state and federal funding sources to provide affordable rental apartments for low—and moderate-income families and apartments with access to supportive and wrap-around services for residents with special needs.

The recently opened clinic provides a broad spectrum of services, including primary care, preventive screenings, women’s health, point-of-care testing, and chronic condition management. As a community health hub, the 8,000-square-foot center at 388 West Market Street is designed to enhance social services throughout the neighborhood by connecting much-needed outpatient medical care to an at-risk population.

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