Preliminary applications are now being accepted for The Place at East Windsor, a new 56-unit income-restricted rental community on Princeton-Hightstown Road. Applications due Monday, Oct. 26.
Community Investment Strategies, the project’s developer and operator, is accepting the applications for the development at 300C Princeton-Hightstown Road. Information packets and applications are available at the East Windsor municipal building, 16 Lanning Boulevard, and the East Windsor Senior Center, 40 Lanning Boulevard.
Following the Oct. 26 deadline, a randomized lottery will be held to determine each household’s order on the applicant list. Applicants selected through that process will receive a full application to be reviewed for eligibility.
Rent will be based on household income, and income, credit and other eligibility requirements.
Mayor Janice Mironov encouraged local residents who may qualify to submit an application.
“While New Jersey law does not allow a residency restriction, this provides a great opportunity for local residents, through the process, to receive consideration for an affordable unit here in East Windsor,” Mironov said. “Senior citizens seeking to stay in the community, young folks raised here and starting out with limited incomes, locally employed teachers and first responders, and local families who might qualify should obtain and submit a Preliminary Application.”
Mironov said submitting the preliminary application is the first step toward consideration for a unit.
“The process to submit a Preliminary Application is very simple and is the initial step to be entered for consideration and possible selection to occupy this brand new housing community,” she said.
The project has been in development for several years. According to East Windsor Township records, the township and Community Investment Strategies entered into an affordable housing agreement in January 2018 for the construction, ownership, operation and management of 56 affordable rental units for low- and moderate-income households at the Princeton-Hightstown Road property.
The project was intended to help East Windsor satisfy its affordable housing obligations.
The East Windsor Planning Board granted preliminary and final major site plan approval for the development on April 15, 2019. Township records show the project later proceeded under a developer’s agreement involving The Place at East Windsor LLC and the 300C Princeton-Hightstown Road property.
The development is designed as family affordable housing rather than an age-restricted community. According to Community Investment Strategies, The Place at East Windsor will include one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments and townhomes.
One-bedroom apartments are about 645 square feet and have a maximum occupancy of two people. Two-bedroom units range from about 890 to 1,060 square feet and can accommodate up to four people. Three-bedroom apartments and townhomes range from about 1,160 to 1,395 square feet and have a maximum occupancy of six.
Each unit will include high-efficiency central heating and air conditioning, luxury vinyl flooring, ceramic-tiled bathrooms, a dishwasher, refrigerator and range, along with washer and dryer hookups. The community will also provide 24-hour emergency maintenance and will be 100% smoke-free.
Five of the 56 units are intended for homeless families, according to Communities First Initiative, a nonprofit affordable housing organization involved with the project. The organization said the development has received support through financing from the New Jersey Housing and Mortgage Finance Agency, including the Special Needs Housing Trust Fund, Multifamily Gap Financing Program and federal low-income housing tax credits.
NJHMFA records provide additional details on that financing. In December 2022, the agency approved commitments including an estimated $8.35 million in permanent financing, a $750,000 subsidy loan through the Special Needs Housing Trust Fund and $6 million through the Multifamily Gap Financing Program.
In May 2024, NJHMFA recommitted the project for approximately $9.1 million in permanent financing while maintaining the $750,000 special-needs loan and $6 million gap-financing commitment.
The project also appeared in several rounds of the state’s Low Income Housing Tax Credit program. NJHMFA records from 2019 listed the proposed project at 56 units, 55 of which were then identified as low-income units. A 2020 application listed all 56 units as low-income, and a 2021 application again listed 56 affordable units.
Community Investment Strategies specializes in affordable housing developments throughout New Jersey. Its portfolio includes family and senior affordable housing communities elsewhere in Mercer and Middlesex counties.
Preliminary applications for The Place at East Windsor can also be downloaded at ciscommunities.com/theplaceateastwindsor. The developer lists a project telephone number of 609-574-1170.
