Page 18 THE VILLADOM TIMES III • June 15, 2011 Allendale Housing on Foreit property could open next summer by John Koster The special needs housing project slated for construction at 303 Crescent Avenue in Allendale, also known as the Foreit property, should be ready for occupants by this time next year, according to a brief report Mayor Vince Barra made at last week’s council session. Mayor Barra noted that Allendale had closed on the 2.5-acre property earlier that week. The $6 million price tag was covered by a variety of federal, state, county, and humanitarian groups and none of the money came from direct taxation of Allendale residents. The site will be developed to accommodate a mixed use of special-needs residents, and residents who qualify for affordable housing. Specifically, Mayor Barra said the site would include 10 units for developmentally disabled people. Six of the units will have one bedroom and four of the units will have two bedrooms. Six units are intended for occupants with MS. Four of these units will have one bedroom each, and two units will have two bedrooms each. An adjunct structure will offer six affordable housing units, including. Those units will include two three-bed- room units and four two-bedroom units. “Allendale residents will not be paying one dime of the cost through property taxes,” Barra said. Plans call for six-foot cyclone fences to surround the existing storage warehouse on the property for 45 to 60 days while contractors proceed with some minor asbestos abatement, said to be routine in buildings of that age. Mayor Barra said that the construction contractor suggested that the existing building not be demolished until the construction crews are ready to proceed with the actual construction. He said that a timetable predicted that the housing would be ready for occupancy within one year. Several local chambers of commerce, including those in Allendale, Mahwah, and Wyckoff, have joined forces with a consortium of Bergen-Passaic chambers to change the law so small businesses with one to 50 employees could purchase group health insurance through the local chambers. The primary sponsor for this legislative amendment (Senate Bill 2874) is Senator Gerald Cardinale (R-District 39, Bergen), ranking member of the Senate Commerce Committee. “In these tough economic times, it’s critical that government work with business to make health care more affordable,” Cardinale said. Since introducing the bill on May 12, Cardinale has Chambers work to make health insurance available garnered support from the bill’s Democratic co-sponsors, Senator Loretta Weinberg (D-District 37, Bergen), and Senator Nicholas Scutari (D-District 22, Middlesex/ Morris/Union). The group’s chairman, John DePalma, MPH, Regional Director of UHY Employee Benefits Consulting Services and member of the Mahwah Regional Chamber of Com- merce, said health benefits purchasing alliances like this are common in other states. “With health care reform becoming effective in 2014, it is about time that the State of New Jersey allows companies with one employee to be eligible to participate in the small group offerings,” DePalma said. “Currently, these (continued on page 24)