New Beginnings Housing Program

In 2022, the City of Trenton created a pilot program, the New Beginnings Housing Program, to create pathways for city resident, Vanessa Solivan, to be designated as the redeveloper of an abandoned city-owned property. 

The redeveloper designation is normally reserved for outside construction crews that can execute large-scale projects across an entire community. Our new program augments those efforts by vesting redevelopment power from the ground up, empowering qualified residents to turn their city around one home at a time. What better way to ensure redevelopment actually benefits our community than to put the residents who endure urban blight at the vanguard of those efforts? A similar program had been tried before by giving people abandoned homes for a dollar. Yet when they opened the doors on that property, they were met with the extraordinary costs to get the property up to code, as well as challenges reserving funds for property taxes, utilities, and other living expenses. Simply giving it to them for free meant little without additional grant funding for essential home improvements and working with them to develop the life skills to maintain the property.

Luckily, we have the available housing stock and redevelopment funding to do just that. And while there have been marked redevelopment efforts in Trenton over the last few years, people like Ms. Solivan have still struggled to acquire the resources to make an impact on their own and become homeowners. Well, not anymore. Under this pilot program, Vanessa selected an abandoned property in her former neighborhood next door to her mother. She met with City housing officials who vetted her ability to maintain the home and pay any bills associated with its maintenance once it’s up to code. Vanessa was then introduced to three local contractors who provided her with estimates for the necessary repairs. As it turns out, the selected licensed contractor was also born and raised in Trenton.

That’s what this pilot program is about: creating new opportunities for Trentonians to forge a new destiny in their hometown. Helping local businesses thrive in the Capital City. Giving our residents the opportunity to be at the forefront of the positive change in their community.

The Trenton City Council approved Resolution 22-030, written by the City of Trenton’s Department of Housing and Economic Development, under Mayor W. Reed Gusciora, to designate Vanessa Solivan, a lifelong Trentonian, as the redeveloper of the property located at 651 and 653 North Clinton Avenue, Block 21701, lots 25 and 24 within the North Clinton Avenue Redevelopment Area and authorized the executive of a redevelopment agreement and an RCA grant agreement regarding the same. 

Under competitive contract, 2022-06, Maley Givens, P.C. provides legal services for redevelopment for the City of Trenton’s Department of Law. Maley Givens is currently developing a guidebook to streamline processes and procedures associated with the New Beginnings Housing Program. The pilot program is expected to be reviewed once the City of Trenton receives this guidebook and can confer with stakeholders, including elected officials, Ms. Solivan, and other key stakeholders to determine whether this program can be 1) scaled; 2) sufficiently funded for the long-term; and 3) staffed by city personnel. The pilot program is nearing completion as construction is currently underway at Ms. Solivan’s property; however, work is still ongoing. 

City residents interested in remaining informed about the City of Trenton’s next steps after the pilot is completed, can complete the following form. Once the staff needs for this pilot program to continue are selected, a phone number and email address to the program coordinator will be posted on this page. 

To receive updates about this program, please complete the following form. Please note that the City of Trenton is not moving forward with any new applications until a thorough review of the pilot program has been completed.