Accolades For Group Trying To Increase Asbury Park Home Ownership

ASBURY PARK, NJ — On Dec. 19, this group of Asbury Park residents were honored for their efforts in trying to increase home ownership in Asbury Park.

The group is called Interfaith Neighbors, and they spent the past several years making sure Asbury Park residents had the first option to buy homes in that town — as opposed to out-of-town real estate investors.

Interfaith Neighbors executive director Paul McEvily, April Horvath and Judy Martinelly, plus Shore Point Architects Andrea Fitzpatrick and Patrick Durkin were all honored by the county last week.

Currently only 25 percent of Asbury Park residents own their homes. One of the best ways to transform a distressed community is to increase opportunities for current residents to become homeowners, and Parkview AP, a real estate development, provides this opportunity.

The property was vacant for nearly 52 years. The project was one of the recommendations of the Springwood Avenue Redevelopment Plan and West Side Choice Neighborhood Transformation Plan. Shore Point Architects was the builder.

Each Parkview AP lot features a 3-bedroom, 2 ½ bath single family home fronting Springwood Avenue, and a 1-bedroom rental unit above the adjacent garage.

This provides the option for homeowners to rent out the rear unit to help pay their mortgage.

Interfaith Neighbors marketed to the local community, so they had the first opportunity to purchase one of the homes prior to them being listed on the MLS. To date, six of the 10 units have been closed on and are occupied, and the other four have buyers for the anticipated completion next year.

The development consists of three deed-restricted affordable units, and seven market-rate units. The development broke ground in 2020 and is anticipated for completion in 2023.