As the Jersey Shore enters its third summer since superstorm Sandy , another milestone
has been reached in the Bayshore’s recovery.
The Affordable Housing Alliance (AHA), a nonprofit dedicated
to expanding affordable housing, began the Bayshore Bungalow Program in the
wake of the 2012 superstorm to provide a cost-effective opportunity for
homeowners to recoup some of what they lost.
“We’re very pleased to be here today to have a replacement
home for one of the homeowners who lost everything in the storm three years
ago,” Donna Blaze, CEO of the housing alliance, said at the June 11 ceremony in Union Beach .
The bungalows — modular homes that come in five different
models — start around $150,000, a price that includes design, permitting and
full construction. Homeowners may also be eligible for grant subsidies for the
homes, which meet state building codes as well as requirements for the New
Jersey Rehabilitation, Reconstruction, Elevation and Mitigation (RREM) grant
program.
The Union Beach bungalow is one of 15 planned so far in Monmouth County . Two are currently under
construction in Aberdeen and Highlands,
according to Blaze. Brenda Ross-Dulan, a regional president for Wells Fargo,
presented AHA with a $125,000 check at the ceremony to help fund those
projects.
While 15 bungalows are planned, AHA will build as many
bungalows as possible with the available resources, according to Blaze.
Other organizations involved with the Bayshore Bungalow
Program include NeighborWorks Capital, Rebuilding Together, Pro Bono
Partnership, Hurricane Sandy New Jersey Relief Fund, Robin Hood Foundation,
Statewide Custom Modular Homes, the St. Bernard Project and Next Step.
AHA estimates that about 8,000 New Jersey residents
still need assistance and envision the Bayshore Bungalow Program as a possible
years, we’ve all been working together to see what we can do to try and return
homeowners to their homes,” Blaze said. “There’s been a lot of time and energy
spent trying to figure out what is the fastest, most cost-effective and best
way to get people back home.”
Keith Getter of NeighborWorks America ,
which financed the construction of the Union
Beach home, said the Sandy recovery is
entering its final stages and all of the work of the past 2 1/2 years is
beginning to avenue for financially exhausted families.
“Over the past three bear fruit. “This year, we are putting
it all back together,” Getter said. “And that is such a joy.”
Union Beach Mayor Paul Smith commended the efforts of the
volunteers and lauded the first bungalow as another piece in the recovery of a
borough that is now dotted by open space and characterized by a slew of
elevated homes near the waterfront. The bungalow is also raised and has a place
for a lift to be installed.
“We can’t thank you enough,” Smith said. “Any day we have a
family coming home is a great day for Union Beach .”
Smith joked that the town would be renamed “Union Stairs”
because of the extensive elevation projects that are ongoing throughout the
borough. Dave Suttles, who would soon be moving into the bungalow on the lot
where he lived before Sandy ,
stepped up to the podium to say a few words to the people who made his family’s
new home a reality.
“I want to thank the Affordable Housing Alliance and all the
wonderful people who helped make this possible,” Suttles said. “It’s been a very
humbling experience for me.”
Suttles recalled the help his family received from people as
far away as Maine in
the immediate aftermath of the storm. He said their support was invaluable in
such a trying time.
“It’s just been an unbelievable experience,” he said.
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