After years of debate and construction, a prominent builder is about to greet the first occupants at its new residential project in East Hanover, one of two developments that will add more than 800 housing units to the town.
The first arrivals are expected this spring at Livana, a 265-unit development on the north end of East Hanover between Eagle Rock Avenue and Route 280, Kushner, formerly known as Kushner LLC, announced last week.
Construction began in June 2022. Livana East Hanover will feature one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments.
Livana debuts in Morris, Bergen counties
Kushner also announced it will soon open another Livana property for renters age 55 and older in Fair Lawn in Bergen County. That development will feature 307 one- and two-bedroom units.
“These new offerings will epitomize a fusion of prime location, quality product and exceptional resident service, perfectly tailored to meet the evolving needs of renters today and well into the future,” Kushner President Nicole Kushner Meyer stated in a news release announcing the openings.
Both Livana properties also feature outdoor pools and game areas, club rooms, outdoor grills, bike storage, pet spas and other common-area amenities.
East Hanover affordable housing drawing on Thursday
Each Livana property also includes an affordable housing component. In East Hanover, 53 units will be reserved for qualifying low-income applicants. In Fair Lawn, 46 units are reserved for low-income renters age 55 and older.
East Hanover will conduct a random selection for preliminary applications in these and two other planned affordable-housing projects. Applications must be received by 1 p.m. Thursday, after which the waiting list may be closed. There will be a preference for applicants who live and/or work in what New Jersey has designated as Housing Region 2 − Morris, Essex Union and Warren counties.
A section of the East Hanover website provides an overview of three new developments and applications for affordable housing in each.
A Kushner spokesperson on Monday said rental rates for the Livana properties have not yet been released. The median monthly rental rate for apartments of any size in East Hanover is $3,527, according to Zumper.com, which monitors real estate trends.
More: Morris County housing boom cresting, but not its commercial growth, report shows
Court order paves the way for more building
A court-ordered directive for more affordable housing in New Jersey continues to drive redevelopment and new construction throughout the state. That directive grew out of to the state Supreme Court’s 1975 Mount Laurel Doctrine, which found the New Jersey constitution requires municipalities to provide their “fair share” of low and moderate-income housing, and to remove any exclusionary zoning.
Another ruling in 2015 shifted oversight of those obligations from the state Council on Affordable Housing to the court system, after the high court concluded COAH had failed to adequately enforce its mandate. That ruling opened a legal door for developers to design large new residential projects, knowing they can gain favor for their projects as long as they include a negotiated percentage of affordable housing.
In East Hanover, for example, 20% of the new Livana units will be priced for low- and moderate-income tenants, while Kushner can sell the other 80% at market rates.
One town, two Kushner family plots
Elsewhere in town, construction also continues at a 548-unit development rising on the site of the former headquarters of Mondelez International off River Road. That property is being developed by a separate Kushner family business, Kushner Real Estate (KRE).
Groundbreaking for the project, Valley View Park, took place in May of 2023. The first phase of 239 units is expected to open early next year.
KRE agreed to build 34 low-income apartments at Valley View Park and another 62 at the Woodland at Valley View portion of the development.
Both Kushner developments are part of a redevelopment plan in East Hanover amended in 2019 to address two pressing needs currently shared by many New Jersey towns: meeting affordable housing requirements and repurposing a glut of vacant office properties.
East Hanover Mayor Joseph Pannullo, speaking after the Mondelez deal was finalized in 2022, said he’s not against affordable housing. But he objected to the court-enforced process − and the imposition of almost 1,000 new units on a town with a population of just over 11,000.
“The people that move in there, I’m 100% sure, will be people that are going to love and embrace this town,” Pannullo said. “They’ll probably work here at one time or another. They’ll contribute to this town being a great town. It’s not about the people that are going to be here — it’s about the amount of human beings that you’re going to stick into a small area.”
William Westhoven is a local reporter for DailyRecord.com. For unlimited access to the most important news from your local community, please subscribe or activate your digital account today.
Email: wwesthoven@dailyrecord.com
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This article originally appeared on Morristown Daily Record: East Hanover plans affordable housing drawing as Livana project nears