It’s not the sort of place where you would want to live.
The worn carpeting reeks of mold. A window is broken. The roof leaks. Uneven steps from the second floor pose a hazard. Oddly curved walls create closet-sized rooms that suggest this two-family house at 29 Abbett Ave. in Morristown once may have wedged multiple families inside.
Come back in a year, though, and things will be different.
“It’s going to be a beautiful home for two families,” promised Betsey Hall, president of Homeless Solutions Inc., during a tour last night for trustees and patrons of the Morristown-based nonprofit.
The organization bought the place for $180,000 in a foreclosure a few months ago. It aims to raise another $200,000 in grants and donations to transform the century-old structure into a pair of affordable, environmentally friendly, one-bedroom apartments for special needs tenants. Specifically, for people living in homeless shelters, or who are victims of domestic abuse.
Established in 1983, Homeless Solutions operates a shelter in Morris Township and has built, or is planning to build, 43 units of affordable housing in Morristown and Morris Township.
On the drawing board are four units on Morristown’s Harrison Street, a property that Homeless Solutions purchased from an estate in December, and six units to be erected on a vacant lot on Martin Luther King near Evergreen Cemetery.
Another 10 units under construction in Washington Township will incorporate solar panels, special insulation and other green features.
Renovations at 29 Abbett Ave. will include bamboo flooring (bamboo is a sustainable wood source), energy-efficient appliances, and removal of lead paint and asbestos tiles, said Dan McGuire, director of development for Homeless Solutions.
“They do great work,” said Ken Nickel, a banker from Rockaway who serves on the corporate advisory council of Homeless Solutions.
“A lot of people think affordable housing is not nice, they wouldn’t want to live there,” said Evangeline Tross, a lawyer from Madison who is a trustee of the nonprofit. “I would want to live there. It’s nice. It’s a good thing.”
She referred to 14 affordable units that Homeless Solutions has built across the street from 29 Abbett Ave.
They are attractive, and Tracey Downey and her two daughters are thrilled to live in one of them.
“We will forever be grateful. Words can’t express our thanks,” Tracey told board members and patrons of Homeless Solutions last night. The organization invited them to 29 Abbett Ave. to glimpse its pre-renovation condition, the “before” half of the before-and-after comparison.
Tracey works for Alcatel-Lucent. When she learned of Homeless Solutions, the single mother was living with family members in Morristown, in tight quarters, because she could not afford a place of her own.
She met the organization’s requirements (no criminal history, ability to pay rents in the $600 range), was entered in a lottery, and was overjoyed when she was accepted for an affordable apartment.
Now Tracey is saving money to buy her own home someday. Her advice to others seeking affordable housing:
“Keep trying. You can’t give up. There are organizations that can help you. It won’t happen overnight. You have to be an advocate for yourself.”
