Governor Christie Announces Milestone Purchase of 200th Home as Part of Highly Successful Sandy Blue Acres Buyout Program
More than 500 Offers Made for Acquisitions Statewide
New Jersey’s Blue Acres Program has purchased its 200th Superstorm Sandy-damaged home as part of a $300 million statewide initiative to move property owners out of areas impacted by Sandy and other severe storms, Governor Chris Christie announced today.
The program has also surpassed another milestone – the 500th buyout offer made by the state to property owners, with more than 300 offers accepted.
“Just weeks after Sandy devastated many parts of New Jersey, homeowners
in some of our hardest hit communities told me they wanted a way out from
the constant threat of flooding,” Governor Christie said today in
South River, a town severely damaged by Sandy’s storm surge. “We
listened, and the Sandy Blue Acres buyout program has been the answer,
giving homeowners and their families a chance to move away from all of
the uncertainty, fear and expense of living in flood-prone areas. The
program is giving them a chance to start over again.”
“The Blue Acres Program has been a tremendous success and is an
important part of the Administration’s efforts to make New Jersey
more resilient in the face of future storms and flooding,” Department
of Environmental Protection (DEP) Commissioner Bob Martin said. “The
decision to move from your home is one of the most difficult anyone could
ever make. We fully understand this and will continue to work closely
with future sellers to ensure this process is easy as possible for them
too.”
Launched by the Christie Administration in May 2013, the $300 million
buyout program will purchase some 1,300 damaged homes from willing sellers
at pre-Sandy market values. The program is administered by the DEP and
is funded primarily by federal funds.
It has been a key part of the Administration’s efforts to make New
Jersey more resilient in the face of future storms and flooding. In addition
to buyouts, the state’s comprehensive plan also includes working
with the Army Corps of Engineers on a $1 billion comprehensive coastal
protection system that includes enhanced beaches and dunes to better protect
coastal communities, new elevation standards in flood zones, programs
to assist homeowners with the cost of elevations, and $1.2 billion in
potential financing for the hardening of water and wastewater infrastructure.
Under the Blue Acres Program, structures are demolished and the properties
converted to open space that provides natural protections for communities
against future severe weather events. To date, nearly 100 homes have been
demolished.
The 200 homes purchased so far have been in Sayreville, South River, Woodbridge
and East Brunswick. The 200th home was purchased on Friday in Sayreville
for a price of $209,000.
Two years ago, the South River Rescue Squad rescued South River resident
and Councilman Jim Hutchison and his wife, Teresa, from their Washington
Street home as flood waters from the South River poured in during the
height of Sandy. They sold the house and property to the Blue Acres Program,
and relocated to another part of town.
“We are extremely pleased with the way everything worked out. Every
step of the way was just a very, very smooth process,” Councilman
Hutchison said at today’s press conference. “I just cannot
say enough about everything Governor Christie has done for New Jersey
and for everyone affected by Sandy.”
So far, the program has identified more than 900 properties for potential
buyouts and has made 500 offers to residents in Sayreville, South River,
Woodbridge, Newark, East Brunswick and Lawrence, which is located along
the Delaware Bay in Cumberland County.
The Blue Acres Program also has approached homeowners about potential
buyouts and held community kickoff meetings in Linden, Old Bridge, Manville
and Pompton Lakes, and is engaged in dialogue with residents and officials
in other communities.
So far, the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) Hazard Mitigation Grant Program has approved more than $100 million in federal funds for the program, which have been processed through the New Jersey Office of Emergency Management.
Additional federal funding to acquire other properties impacted by Superstorm Sandy will be provided through the a second round of federal Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Disaster Recovery funds allocated to New Jersey by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).
The DEP is using a special Blue Acres team to work closely with willing
sellers and process their buyout applications as quickly as possible.
Case managers are paired with individual homeowners to help guide them
through the process.
The original Blue Acres Program, which began in 1995, targeted the purchases
of land in floodways in the Delaware, Passaic and Raritan river basins,
but it was later expanded to include all state waters. Eligible properties
are those that have been storm damaged, that are prone to incurring storm
damage, or that may buffer or protect other lands from such damage.
Homeowners interested in selling their homes through this process may
contact the DEP’s Blue Acres Program at 609-984-0500.
For more information on the Blue Acres Program, visit: http://www.state.nj.us/dep/greenacres/blue_flood_ac.html
For information on Sandy Recovery, visit: http://www.state.nj.us/dep/special/hurricane-sandy/