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Community Corner

Moorestown Ecumenical Neighborhood Development (MEND) and Conifer Realty, LLC Receive 2014 New Jersey Future "Smart Growth Award" for Springside School Apartments in Burlington Township

Moorestown Ecumenical Neighborhood Development (MEND) and its joint venture development partner Conifer Realty, LLC, along with project partners Burlington Township and New Jersey Housing & Mortgage Finance Agency, were among the winners of New Jersey Future’s 13th Annual Smart Growth Awards for their collective work on Springside School Apartments in Burlington Township. The team was recognized for adapting an unused school to provide senior and special-needs residences and services. Nearly 300 people attended the recent ceremony at the Newark Club in Newark, honoring best practices in planning and development from around the state.

The 75-unit apartment provides housing for low- and moderate-income senior citizens and adults with special needs. Thirty-two apartments are located in the former Springside Elementary School – initially built in 1871 as a one-room schoolhouse known as the Mitchell School at Springside – now designated as a National and State Historic Landmark building. The remaining 43 apartments are located in a new, two-story addition attached to the rear of the former school. Development for the community began in late 2010 and was finished in just three years, from concept through completion.

Since 2002, New Jersey Future has honored more than 80 projects with Smart Growth Awards. MEND and Conifer are previous Smart Growth Award winners; MEND won an award in 2007 for its Creed II housing complex in Moorestown and Conifer won in 2013 for the Whitman Park housing development in Camden. Smart Growth Award Winners are selected from a statewide public nomination process by an independent jury of professional developers, architects, planners and redevelopment experts. 

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(Photo courtesy of New Jersey Future)
Pete Kasabach, Executive Director of New Jersey Future; Matt Reilly, President and CEO of Moorestown Ecumenical Neighborhood Development (MEND), Inc.; Tim Fournier, President,  Conifer Realty, LLC; Charles M. Lewis, Senior Vice President, Conifer Realty, LLC; Brian Carlin, Mayor of Burlington Township; Anthony Marchetta, Executive Director of the New Jersey Housing and Mortgage Finance Agency 

About MEND
Celebrating its 45th anniversary, Moorestown Ecumenical Neighborhood Development, Inc. (MEND) is a private, nonprofit, housing development organization founded by nine Moorestown churches in 1969. MEND is a national and state award-winning developer dedicated to providing safe and affordable rental housing to senior citizens, disabled persons, and families of low and moderate income. MEND has developed 565 residential units at 27 locations in the Burlington County region. Another 153 units at two more locations are currently under construction.  Over the last four decades, MEND’s affordable housing production efforts have represented a $113 million real estate investment in the region. 

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About Conifer Realty, LLC
Conifer Realty, LLC is a full-service real estate company specializing in the development and management of high-quality, affordable housing communities. Since its inception, the company has developed and/or acquired over 230 properties and over 17,300 apartment units. Conifer concentrates its business in New York, New Jersey, Maryland and Pennsylvania. The company currently owns and manages over 13,000 apartment units throughout these regions. Please visit www.coniferllc.com for more information.

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