Senior Housing Project Honored with Smart Growth Award

A project to transform Madison Borough’s original firehouse into a four-story, 12-unit apartment building that houses very-low-income senior citizens is one of seven exemplary projects to be honored with a 2011 Smart Growth Award from New Jersey Future, the nonprofit smart-growth research and advocacy group.
 
The Barbara W. Valk Firehouse Apartments—a collaboration of Madison Borough, the Madison Affordable Housing Corporation and the Madison Housing Authority—is cited in the category of Inclusionary In-Fill Development.
 
The honorees will receive their awards at New Jersey Future’s 10th-annual Smart Growth Awards ceremony on June 9 at the Newark Club.

The Valk project is located on the site of the original Madison Hook and Ladder Company firehouse, which was built in 1903 and eventually converted into an unremarkable two-story commercial building that was demolished to make way for the project. The four-story building that was constructed in its place consists of nine one-bedroom and three two-bedroom handicapped-accessible unit.  It houses the offices of the Madison Housing Authority and the Madison Affordable Housing Corporation on the first floor, and includes an elevator, on-site parking and laundry facilities. It is located within walking distance of the downtown main street, shopping, library, places of worship, municipal complex, and other amenities.
 
“The community has been involved in every aspect of the planning of this project,” reads the citation honoring the project. “At several public forums, as well as presentations before the municipal council and planning board, the public had many opportunities to ask questions and make suggestions. Additional meetings were held with surrounding neighbors and business owners to discuss the proposed plans for the new building. After some initial skepticism, the project enjoyed widespread public support.”
 
Click here for a complete description of the Valk project.
 
Peter Kasabach, executive director of New Jersey Future, in a release said, “The winners of these awards demonstrate how New Jersey, the nation’s most developed state, can sustain a robust economy and a healthy environment through smart growth and redevelopment in the 21st century."