Renovated Abandoned Homes Sprucing Up NJ Neighborhoods
A non-profit organization based in Orange, NJ — HANDS, Housing and Neighborhood Development Services, Inc. — announced last month that it had received $2.4 million in grants and loans to acquire, rehabilitate and resell 15 vacant properties in the city.
“This funding is critical to our strategy of high-impact development and paves the way to eliminating some of the worst, nagging eyesores in Orange,” said Patrick Morrissy, the organization’s founder and executive director.
HANDS is committed to the revitalization of neighborhoods in Orange and East Orange by redeveloping troubled properties and turning them into affordable housing. It was founded in 1986 by a group of clergy and community leaders.
For its latest endeavor, HANDS was able to receive a $625,000 grant and $900,000 loan under the Urban Homeownership Recovery Program of the New Jersey Housing and Mortgage Finance Agency.