New kind of housing in Trenton
TRENTON - July 8, 2008 Heavy equipment started the demolition of the old Kearney Homes public housing complex at South Warren Street and Route 29 in Trenton to make way for Cooper Crossing.
Crossing is made up of 88 stacked townhouses that will sell for at least $170,000; it is the first market-rate housing to be built in the city since the 1940s.
"This the first new construction community in the city of Trenton in almost 70 years, and by doing that, it really becomes a catalyst for the show to show that once market rate comes to the city that it can be successful," developer John Westrum said.
"It continues to tell the naysayers that we are making progress or you wouldn't have private developers in here," Mayor Doug Palmer (D) of Trenton said.
Westrum Developers along with Ryan homes will build the two and three bedroom townhouses hoping to attract working class families into the city.
"It's part of the new urbanism, the renaissance of Trenton," Councilman Jim Coston (D) said.
"It fits into the objective of getting people to live, play, work in the city," Director of Housing and Economic Developing Sasa Olessi said.
Cooper Crossing is part of Trenton's plan to redevelop the waterfront along Route 29. Local groups are excited that this dilapidated old housing project, which sits next to a school, will be replaced with market-rate housing for families.
The developer says homeowners will be occupying Cooper Crossing by this time next year and the project should be completed by 2010.