Cooper Towers Senior Housing Renovated

$2 Million Project Utilizes In-Place Funding… Offers Cost Savings for Renovation of Senior Apartments…  Provides Quality Jobs for Township Trades Workers… and Provides New Housing for Woodbridge Senior Residents 

 

Woodbridge, NJ -- Mayor John E. McCormac, representatives of Woodbridge-area construction companies and trade unions, the Woodbridge Redevelopment Agency and the Woodbridge Housing Authority today unveiled newly renovated, handicap-accessible apartments for Senior residents at the Cooper Towers Senior Apartment Center in Iselin . 

 

Mayor McCormac announced last October that the long-term reconstruction and renovation project is geared to upgrade 415 senior housing units maintained by the Woodbridge Housing Authority at Stern, Olsen, Finn, Adams and Greiner Tower Senior resident centers.  The program decreases administrative costs (thus allowing more dollars to be invested in actual construction), offers employment opportunities to professional tradespersons from Woodbridge-area construction and trade organizations, and provides new, up-dated and modern housing for Woodbridge senior residents.  The $2.25 million project utilizes monies currently on-deposit with the Affordable Housing Trust Fund.

 

Joining Mayor McCormac to announce the project were Caroline Ehrlich, Executive Director, Woodbridge Redevelopment Agency (RDA), Donna Brightman , Executive Director, Woodbridge Housing Authority , Kevin McCabe, Chief of Staff, Northeast Regional Council of Carpenters (U.B.J.C.A.), Richard Brown, Vice President, Mast Construction Services, Nick Latkovic, United States Gypsum, Inc., Dennis Henry, Director, Woodbridge Township Department of Public Works, representatives from Verizon and Comcast Cable, Jean Asouline, President, Cooper Towers Resident Association, and senior residents from Cooper Towers.

 

“This unique public/private partnership represents good government by utilizing available Affordable Housing monies received from developers - not taxpayer dollars – to renovate and update 415 senior housing apartments and provides employment in a down economy to Woodbridge-area craftsmen, plumbers, electricians, masons, and tradesmen,” said Mayor McCormac.  “While these are challenging times for many local municipalities, Woodbridge continues to work out-of-the-box to implement creative projects that achieve our mandate of maximizing taxpayer resources, assuring the availability of modern housing to senior residents, and providing employment opportunities to Township workers.”

 

The Woodbridge Township Redevelopment Agency serves as the project general contractor, directing the work, coordinating labor, purchasing materials, and insuring the permitting, inspection and quality of the project.  The Woodbridge Housing Authority makes vacant units available – three to five units at a time – for rehabilitation and renovation.  The Northeast Regional Council of Carpenters (U.B.J.C.A.) provides the necessary labor to staff the project, providing laborers where possible who are Township residents, and staff from the Department of Public Works are assigned to provide labor and specialty services.  The renovation of each apartment includes a new kitchen (flooring, cabinets, appliances), bathroom (flooring, fixtures, cabinets), and the renovation of the living and bedroom areas (flooring, windows, doors, painting). 

Jean Asouline, President, Cooper Towers Resident Association, outlines renovations to senior resident apartments at Cooper Towers . Mayor John E. McCormac, members of the Municipal Council, representatives of Woodbridge-area construction companies and trade unions, the Woodbridge Redevelopment Agency, the Woodbridge Housing Authority and the Department of Public Works participated in the ceremonial ribbon-cutting and grand opening of newly renovated apartments for Senior residents at the Cooper Towers Senior Apartment Center in Iselin . 

Mayor John E. McCormac and Caroline Ehrlich, Woodbridge Redevelopment Agency, welcome Mr. and Mrs. Orlando Rangel to Apartment 2A at Cooper Towers .