Montgomery Required to Build 260 More Affordable Housing Units, Round 4 of the NJ Mandate

By Barbara A. Preston | Posted October 31, 2024

According to the NJ Department of Community Affairs, Montgomery Township is required to create another 260 affordable housing units in the next decade as part of Round 4 of the state's affordable housing program.

Multiple affordable housing projects have come to fruition lately in Montgomery, including — The Apartments at Montgomery Crossing (86 units) off Route 518 and The Somerset at Montgomery Route 206.

Building 2 of The Somerset complex on Route 206 next to the Montgomery Shopping Center (ShopRite). It includes 115 apartments (92 market-rate rental units and 23 are affordable).

Others projects are in the pipeline, but would not count for Round 4, such as: The Haven at Princeton in Montgomery on River Road/Route 605 (32 affordable rental units and 122 market units).

Meanwhile, one of the larger affordable housing developments in town — Pike Run Village (210 affordable rental units) off Route 206 in Belle Mead — will be eligible to convert its affordable units to market-priced units soon. When built in 1998, the affordable units at Pike Run were restricted — required to remain affordable for a period of at least 30 years. (Uniform Housing Affordability Controls, New Jersey Fair Housing Act.)

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Montgomery News columnist Ed Trzaska will tackle the issue of what happens to "affordable" housing units once the 30-year deed restriction is lifted. Look for his column in December issue of The Montgomery News.

Round 4 regulations shift to a 40-year affordable deed restriction for new rental units and remain at 30 years for for-sale units.  

Rocky Hill's Number

The tiny borough of 295 households will have to build/provide 37 more affordable units according to the Round 4 mandate.

The town currently has zero units built. However, there is an affordable housing project in the pipeline for Princeton Avenue to meet the borough's previous mandate. It will have 78 units, including 16 affordable. This is almost a 30% increase in households.

Towns have until January 31 to adopt the new guidelines, or to provide their own calculations for how they will fulfill their obligations for their Round 4 mandate over the next decade (2025-2035).