The City of Trenton has received more than $7.5 million in state funding to demolish or stabilize city-owned vacant and abandoned properties.
The $7,590,358 grant from the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs will support work by the city Department of Housing and Economic Development on properties considered unsafe or unhealthy for nearby residents, according to the city.
City Council authorized the department to apply for and accept the funding when it approved a resolution in April. The grant agreement was formally accepted July 6.
Under the agreement, Trenton will submit reimbursement requests to the state as demolition and stabilization projects are completed.
The city has already used the program for demolition work at 13-17 Hampton Ave. and 670 S. Clinton Ave.
Trenton submitted a reimbursement request for the two projects July 22, and the Department of Community Affairs approved it July 28. The city received $708,192 on Aug. 5 to reimburse the cost of the work.
“Thanks to the work of our Department of Housing & Economic Development under Interim Director Yolanda Vasquez, and its partnership with the Department of Community Affairs, hazardous properties throughout the City are being taken down, enabling new constructions & creating a healthier environment for our residents,” Mayor W. Reed Gusciora said. “These first projects are just the start of what this funding has made possible for our City.”
