
MANCHESTER – It may have been a rainy, overcast morning, but Bertalan and Alaina Gonci saw the light through the darkness. They were standing on a plot of land that will one day be their home.
“We are just overwhelmed,” Bertalan Gonci said. “This is all great and we appreciate the support.”
“I’m overwhelmed by all of this,” Alaina added. The couple currently lives in Marlton.
Sgt. First Class Bertalan Gonci joined the Army in 1993 and after serving his country for two decades, was honorably and medically retired in 2017.
During his years of service, Gonci served as an infantryman from 1993 to 1997 and then as a paratrooper from 1997 to his date of retirement. As a combat infantryman and paratrooper, he completed four combat deployments during Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom. This included two combat deployments to Afghanistan and two combat deployments to Iraq. He has received numerous medals.
Service comes with a cost, however. Gonci suffers from combated related PTSD, memory issues, migraines, hearing loss, bilateral knee injuries, cervical and lumbar spine injuries and musculoskeletal conditions.
He wanted to serve his country and follow in his father’s footsteps. His dad served during the Vietnam War as an Army Ranger.
He was the first veteran who will receive housing on Cherry Street in the Whiting section of town.

“We bought the property about 10 years ago and four years ago we started working with Manchester Township to create lots to build these homes,” said Lennar Senior Vice President of Land Robert Calabro. He said the town has been very gracious in waiving fees for them to get the project started.
Lennar is a developer that has done many residential and commercial projects. Building Homes For Heroes is their way of “bringing renewed hope to our nation’s injured veterans, first responders and their families,” according to their website. “The organization builds or modifies homes, and gifts them, mortgage-free, to injured veterans, first responders and their families, while providing support services to enable them to build better and brighter lives and reach new heights.”
Lennar Vice President of Customer Care NJ/NY Division Jodie McCool said this parcel will serve as three housing units for veterans. The work will be completed in December.
She said the veterans who will reside there have already been selected. This first unit will serve the Goncis.
“Our goal is to get them into their homes for the holidays,” McCool said.
A groundbreaking ceremony was attended by Mayor Joseph Hankins, former mayor/current Ocean County Commissioner Robert Arace, Council members James Vaccaro, Michele Zolezi, Craig Wallis and Sandy Drake along with numerous township firefighters, police and EMS.
“We appreciate the cooperation of all the parties that got us here,” Calabro said. “Lennar has donated many homes to veterans and first responders and deserving recipients over the years. This is the first one we were able to do in New Jersey and we are very excited to be able to do that. In the future you will see two additional homes as you go down the street to your right for two more deserving candidates. We thank Building Homes for Heroes for all their help and support.”
“They did a great job in vetting applicants and guiding Lennar to the final interview where we resoundingly endorsed their (Gonci) selection to receive this home on Cherry Street,” he said.
Homes for Heroes Project Manager Tracy White told The Manchester Times about her organization. “Our founder found himself in rounds of rubble after 9/11 happened and he was feeling overwhelmed and helpless and made a strong commitment to make a difference and so it started from there and our first home was gifted in 2006.”

“We are currently working on our 50, 500, 5,000 campaign, which is 50 homes in 2025, we’ll hit our 500th home and help 5,000 veterans. We have various programs to help veterans,” White added. “We have quite a few projects in New Jersey and the greater Philly area and all the way up to Chicago. We are partnering with several different builders and may be doing two more right here with Lennar.”
A giant American flag hung from a Whiting fire truck near the mound of dirt which had several shovels planted into a mound of dirt for the occasion. A township based business, A Fork In The Road served up some free food from their food truck for the event.
“Ocean County and Manchester’s financial support has been tremendous and we wouldn’t be here at this point without that and we thank them very much,” Calabro added.
Mayor Hankins remarked, “it is a pleasure to attend such a monumental event. This groundbreaking marks more than the start of a building. It shows the community’s unwavering commitment to those who have given so much. It is a very special project that began in 2023 before my time as mayor however I had the privilege of serving on council during the early stages and our current commissioner was mayor and he worked tirelessly to move this vision forward.”
“We take great pride in supporting our veterans not just in word but through meaningful action,” the mayor added.
Calabro said, “in a few months we will be inviting you back here and handing them a set of keys to their new home. They have been involved in picking the specific home and some of the features and I am sure we will continue to work with them as we move forward to get this place just great. We will do everything humanly possible to deliver this home as close to perfect by the end of 2025.”