New DCA funding program taps two Thriven projects to create resilient homes

Two projects for which Thriven Design is providing multidisciplinary architecture, engineering, planning, and design services are among the first five projects in New Jersey to receive DCA Smart Move Program funding.

Ferdinand Street Housing (Newark), developed by Beacon Development Partners, and Gordon Road (Robbinsville), developed by Affordable Housing Alliance both will receive awards of up to $15,000,000 toward the creation of safe, affordable, more storm resilient housing for families impacted or displaced by Hurricane Ida, which became the second-deadliest hurricane in New Jersey history when it struck the state in 2021.

“The Smart Move Program seeks to expand affordable housing choice and to rebuild financial equity for residents who have experienced repetitive losses as a result of floods, housing instability, and property devaluation,” said DCA Commissioner Jacquelyn A. Suárez in the October 22 funding announcement. “DCA’s Division of Disaster Recovery and Mitigation has been developing innovative programs to better protect people from flooding and to be proactive in climate resiliency efforts. The Smart Move program is one such initiative.”

Under the Smart Move Program, Ferdinand Street Housing will create eight new homeownership opportunities in the City of Newark, as well as another 25 affordable rental apartments funded by other state development subsidies.  Gordon Road, located in suburban Robbinsville, Mercer County, will create six single-family detached homes as an affordable homeownership element of the municipal fair-share plan.

To qualify for DCA Smart Move funding, projects must be located in Bergen, Essex, Gloucester, Hudson, Hunterdon, Middlesex, Mercer, Morris, Passaic, Somerset, Union, or Warren counties; be located outside of the 500-year floodplain; meet or exceed environmental and sustainability standards; serve multiple incomes, contain at least six single-family for-sale homes, and be on track to be completed by January, 2028.

A total of five projects were selected for funding this October. To learn more about all of this year’s recipients, visit https://www.nj.gov/dca/news/news/2025/approved/20251022.shtml.