By Michael Hill
Correspondent
Tasha Haskins wants one.
“These buildings are just being wasted,” the Bordentown resident said.
This abandoned and vacant building on East Hanover Street in Trenton.
When asked if she has a dream of living in something like that, Haskins said, “It’s possible. It’s a possibility that I would.”
New Jersey’s capital city is launching a homestead program so thousands of vacant properties — blight neighborhoods — can get new owners and new life for little money.
“A lot of people say well, you can get it for a dollar! Well, the range is from a dollar up to $10,000 depending on the assessed value based on what we believe can be done and how fast we can get these properties back in to rateables for the city,” said Trenton Mayor Eric Jackson.
“We couldn’t get our arms around it because we didn’t have really good information,” said Isles, Inc. CEO Martin Johnson.
So, this summer, the community development organization, Isles, led the Trenton Neighborhood Restoration Campaign to walk every block in the city. They learned the city has 6,300 vacant properties, 3,900 buildings, 2,400 lots.
The city owns 340 vacant buildings and 948 empty lots.
A study found almost one in four properties in Trenton is a vacant lot or vacant building. The mayor sees it as economic opportunity and tax revenues waiting to be harvested.
“We’re talking about a huge influx of tax revenue this city so desperately needs,” Jackson said.
Mayor Jackson says the city is ripe for homesteaders and their investments because violent crime has fallen by 21 percent this third quarter compared to the third quarter of last year.
“We’re minimizing the risk involved with investors coming in and helping us reshape and redevelop our city,” he said.
Johnson points to East Hanover Street as ideal for homesteaders — walking distance to City Hall and state office buildings and the area has just received a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts.
“We’re bullish about the ability of Trenton to become, to repopulate. We had a 135,000 people. We’re down to 84,000 now but it’s leveling off, starting to come back. Certainly a result of some international immigration but it makes it possible for us to be optimistic about the future,” Johnson said.
Trenton’s homestead program calls for buyers to live in their properties for 10 years. The city will abate their taxes the first five years.
Properties will go to the highest bidders.
When asked if a lower bidder will be allowed to jump back in and re-bid, Trenton Housing and Economic Development Department Director Monique King-Viehland said, “Most definitely,” adding the organization hopes for a bidding war.
The homestead program begins in the next 30 to 60 days.
To access and apply to buy vacant property in city, call the city’s economic director’s office at 609-989-3518. The Department of Housing and Economic Development is located at Trenton City Hall, 319 East State St., Trenton, NJ 08608. To see the properties for sale if you’re not driving the streets of Trenton, visit restoringtrenton.org. You can also view an interactive map here.