Affordable Housing

Building and Strengthening Communities: AllHomes

“AllHomes is building neighborhoods of inclusion across New Jersey by increasing the number of affordable housing opportunities for people with special needs.  Promoting inclusion, supporting diversity, and increasing understanding-Allies strives to make every community in which we build or renovate housing an even better community for everyone to work, play and raise a family.”

– Doug Conkling, Allies Director of Housing

AllHomes is the affordable housing development division of Allies.  Through AllHomes, townships and municipalities are able to work in partnership with for-profit and non-profit developers and benefit from incentives and resources that the state and federal government have created to purchase and renovate residential properties for people with special needs.  AllHomes was awarded a grant from The State of New Jersey through the Office of Housing Advocacy which has served to sustain and promote the development of affordable units throughout New Jersey for people with special needs.

Our affordable housing initiative has paved the way for people with special needs to live on their own, many for the first time.  Take Joe (age 40) for example.  Joe had lived with his mother his entire life and was anxious about moving out on his own.  He wanted the independence, but the thought of leaving the only home he ever knew was daunting and scary.  That’s where Allies came in.  We worked with Joe to identify what about his mother’s home made him feel safe and comfortable. We took the information we gathered from Joe and were able to find him his own place that met his needs, eased his fears, and made him feel settled.  Joe is now happily living independently; life is good for him.

Since 1999, Allies has renovated and rehabilitated homes for over 300 people with special needs like Joe.  AllHomes has established an effective network of contractors, engineers, and architects that work together to ensure all our projects are completed within budget and on-time. Even more importantly, our partners are committed to building the very best homes that meet the needs and desires of the people that will live in them.

AllHomes projects help municipalities meets their affordable housing obligations set by the New Jersey Council on Affordable Housing (COAH).  In fact, nearly half of the houses, condos and townhouses that we’ve built have been incorporated into Municipality Master Plans, helping towns satisfy their COAH obligations.  To date, we have built 132 bedrooms for people with special needs that have served as COAH credits for 22 Townships in 17 Counties across New Jersey.  Of those 132 COAH units, 24 were made possible through grants from the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the NJ Housing Mortgage Finance Agency (HMFA).  The HUD grants were part of the 811 program, while the HMFA grant originated from the Special Needs Housing Trust Fund (SNTF).

Allies understands that independence is one of life’s greatest gifts.  Living independently provides an opportunity to reveal a person’s strength’s and abilities.  Providing safe and comfortable homes that allow people with special needs to live on their own is one of our proudest achievements.  Allies helps people come home.

For more information about AllHomes and affordable housing options in your area, please contact Doug Conkling.