An 8-acre wooded property on Haddonfield-Berlin Road in Voorhees is cleared and leveled, ahead of development of Victory Commons, an 81-unit affordable apartment complex.
The project location is between Northgate and Southgate Drives. Behind the property are a series of wooded residential properties and about three blocks back is the Hamilton Elementary School.
The large Tri-Borough Sand and Stone Company is directly across the street from the upcoming Victory Commons.
Victory Commons is being developed by Camden based developer Michael’s Organization, who lists on their website ownership of 596 communities… with 74,000 units managed, housing over 200,000 residents in those projects.
They currently have $11 billion of assets under management, with another almost $5 billion of projects in the pipeline,
While those are big numbers a good portion of their housing is allocated to affordable units, as well as student housing.
The Victory Commons facility will consist of nine buildings which they state will be a family oriented community and include a Clubhouse (fitness room, community center, multipurpose room) as well as a tot -lot and sufficient parking.
Renderings of the apartment buildings show that it’s a nicely designed property looking more like townhomes, than apartments.
The project was approved by the Voorhees Planning Board in 2019 and is just seeing the start of development five years later. Likely a portion of that delay was related to the COVID pandemic.
Additionally, they are utilizing construction financing from the New Jersey Housing and Mortgage Finance Agency, which is an official New Jersey department focused on making available affordable rental housing and homeownership opportunities for residents. The NJHMFA participates in projects by investing in, financing and facilitating access to the housing for those in need.
Additionally Camden County is making some HOME funds available, which is a Federal Housing and Urban Development program utilized to support housing developers creating new affordable housing units.
Likely those government financing approvals also added to the timeline of the project starting now.
A recent Camden County public notice related to the HOME Funds states the development will include 16 one-bedroom units, 44 two-bedroom units, and 21 three-bedroom units. 5 units will be set aside for the homeless.
The 2019 Planning Board minutes state that one unit will be for the property manager.
In 2019 it was stated the rents would be $700-1200 a month although I am not sure if those numbers have been adjusted for 2024, factoring in the significant rise in housing costs.
That being said the Company representative stated at the time it will not be Section 8 housing. Prospective tenants will undergo extensive credit, background and criminal screenings.
New Jersey Fair Share housing requirements are set for most towns, and these units will count towards the required number of affordable units that Voorhees is required to approve/develop.
It was also expect that the school district could see an increase of 30-50 children, but it was believed that new staff or infrastructure would be required.
As mentioned there will also be a 3,000 square foot clubhouse with an exercise room, computer lab, computer room with kitchenette, laundry facilities and a management office.
It appears at this point they are not taking applications as there is no online website available. Keep in mind when I visited 2 weeks ago no actual construction had started so it’s still very early in the process.
This coverage was a request from several 42Freeway readers “Hey what’s going on over in Voorhees…” which had me research and visit. All information was sourced independently but if you’d like to read more, the Courier-Post and 70and73.com have additional details.
Links and Location
Victory Commons (Under Development)
1223 Berlin Road
Voorhees, NJ