BERKELEY – Three stories of apartments rise up over Route 9. They will be home to heroes next year as the Veterans Village in Bayville takes shape.
Tunnel 2 Towers, a nonprofit which works to combat veteran homelessness, is building the village at the intersection of 9 and Sloop Creek Road. There will be 25 single family homes, 99 apartments, and common areas for treatment and assistance. The entire facility will be restricted only to veterans.
Local officials gave The Berkeley Times a tour of the site in mid-September. The foundation and the metal frame of the apartments were finished. Many of the apartments were done, while a few sat to the side, ready to be added.
Construction manager Joseph Dick explained that the apartments are individual units made in Pennsylvania and shipped to the site. Then, they are lifted by a crane and attached to the frame of the complex. This cuts down on the amount of time that the crew has to be on location.
Common areas on the bottom floor will have offices and meeting areas where social work can help the veterans in any aspect of their lives.
“The great thing about this place is that they’re going to usually have 20 to 30 staff here that work 24/7 that supports the veterans for any of their social activities, and supports other than putting a roof over their head,” he said. “They come in every day, talk to them, update them, question them and see what they need. And of course, the social aspect: you’re going to have over a hundred veterans here, that can band together, and socialize and get themselves back together.”
A tour of the single family homes were given last year, showing an accessible floor plan and modern amenities.
“This project is the first one that was constructed by Tunnel 2 Towers in the entire state of New Jersey so Berkeley Township is proud to be able to contribute back to the US military veterans,” Mayor John Bacchione said. “It’s an opportunity to give back to what the veterans have given us.”
Developer Vito Cardinale of Cardinale Enterprises owned the property and reached out to Bacchione about having the land used in this way. Bacchione said the only requirement he wanted was that the land be deed restricted so that only U.S. military veterans could live here.
“Cardinale said ‘done.’ So when I posed the same question to (executive vice president) Gavin Naples from Tunnel 2 Towers, he also said ‘done.’ This project is deed restricted to U.S. military veterans,” he said.
Obviously, spouses are allowed to live with the veterans, officials said. All of the units have one bedroom.
