Middletown Opens Affordable Housing Complex For U.S. Military Veterans

MIDDLETOWN, NJ — Middletown Township opened its brand-new veterans' housing complex at 45 Leonardville Road in the Campbell’s Junction area last Sunday.

This is a new 22,000-square-foot veterans housing facility. It will be called the Middletown Veterans Village and has 12 apartments for U.S. military veterans. It was built where a tool-rental company was located for a long time, but the property has been vacant for several years.

However, no veterans have moved in yet. The veterans have to be chosen through a housing list run by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, and the HUD selection is frozen due to the current federal government shutdown, Mayor Tony Perry said Friday morning.

However, when vets are chosen to move in, preference will be given first to veterans who live in Middletown, then in Monmouth County and then in New Jersey. The Township has not revealed rent prices.

Middletown will be working with Monmouth County’s Department of Health and Human Services and the Mental Health Association to do the tenant screening and selection. There is a preference for qualified veterans who live or work in Middletown. Additional information on how people can apply will be shared on middletownnj.org/ourveterans

Building the affordable veterans' housing has been a cause of Perry's since he first took office.

"The Township Committee and I are very proud to see this project come to fruition after years of hard work, partnership and dedication," said Perry. "Our veterans have given their all to grant us the freedoms we have today. This affordable housing complex is just a small token of our everlasting appreciation for their bravery and sacrifices."

The complex has private living spaces, and also communal areas, including:

• Activity rooms and lounges with televisions
• Pool and game tables
• A front porch designed for relaxation and socializing
• Patriotic design elements such as American, MIA and KIA flagpoles
• A stone memorial at the entrance to honor fallen heroes

The Township dedicated the first- and second-floor community rooms to the late Gary Ruhman, who served in the United States Navy and Jason Douglas Creager, who passed away from cancer at 19 years old. Jason was the nephew of residents Dennis and Linda McGinnis, who own McGinnis Printing in Red Bank.

The entire project cost $9.2 million and was partially funded by a $1-million grant from the state of New Jersey and a $3-million contribution from the Middletown Redevelopment Corporation. The remainder was covered by Middletown Twp. municipal funds.

The complex was designed in collaboration with Middletown’s Veterans Affairs Committee. The building was designed by DMR Architects, located in Hasbrouck Heights.

Middletown held a ribbon cutting Sunday, Nov. 2. The ribbon cutting was followed by Middletown's annual Veterans' Day parade. Middletown also unveiled its War on Terror memorial that day; the parents of Lt. Dennis Zilinski, a 23-year-old Middletown resident who was killed in action in Iraq in 2005 while serving in the war on terror, helped unveil the memorial.

The following local organizations also contributed to Veterans Village through monetary donations, services, or physical items: American Legion Post 515, Bayview Elementary School’s Heroes Café, Bella Beachy Photography, Feeding Our Heroes, Home Sweet Home Staging, Jason’s Dreams for Kids, Lincroft Senior Housing, Middletown Elks Lodge 2179, Middletown Helps Its Own, Middletown Housing Authority, Middletown Township Public Library, Middletown Veterans Affairs Committee, Monmouth Museum, Ralph T. Godwin, Gary Ruhman Bike Tour for Veterans, the Pieluc family, Uras Monuments and VFW Post 2179.