BERKELEY – A “Veterans Village” made up of 124 homes is planned to be built on Route 9.
The development would be at the intersection of Atlantic City Boulevard (Route 9) and Sloop Creek Road. It would contain 99 apartments and 24 one-story houses. There would also be 24/7 onsite support services.
The developer is Tunnel To Towers Foundation, a nonprofit that supports veterans and their families.
“This is the first of its kind in the state of New Jersey,” Mayor John Bacchione told The Berkeley Times.
However, the organization has built similar neighborhoods in other states, said Gavin Naples, vice president of Tunnel To Towers’ Homeless Veterans Program.
Many of the housing projects are in large cities, but Berkeley is thoroughly suburban. Naples said that Bayville came to their attention because of the new Veterans Administration hospital being built in Toms River. They knew they wanted to be close to that, and saw the numbers of veterans in Ocean County, so they sought land nearby.
One of the most important parts of this is a requirement that the housing be deed restricted, Bacchione said. This means that by law, only veterans and their families can live there.
The town has frequently supported veterans and veteran services. He said that at a recent meeting when the development was discussed, “there was not one negative remark” about it.
The development was approved by the Zoning Board of Adjustment. This is the land use board that determines if a development is a good fit for the area. That land is zoned for highway business, so the developer had to go through the Zoning Board to be given the OK to move forward.
Next, the development would have to go before the Planning Board. This land use board looks at specific plans of a development, such as where the buildings are, where the entrance is, and how it will impact drainage.
Tunnel To Towers is dedicated to firefighter Stephen Gerard Siller who lost both parents at a young age and was raised by older siblings. He was driving home after his shift as a Brooklyn firefighter when he heard on the police scanner that a plane had hit the first tower on September 11, 2001. He tried to get back to the station but the Brooklyn Battery Tunnel was closed for security reasons. He took his gear out of his truck and ran with 60 pounds of gear on his back. He lost his life saving others from the Twin Towers.
For more information, including how to donate or how to get help as a veteran, visit T2T.org.
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