by Alberto Canal

Journal staff writer

Jersey City will take the lion's share of a $45 million federal HOPE VI revitalization grant for the Lafayette Gardens public housing development, according to the governor's office.

A total of 492 units will be demolished and replaced by 300 new units to be developed on-site along with another 550 units off-site.  Revitalization of two neighboring sections of the area is also in the works.

An estimated 1,000 families will benefit from the $34.1 million in grant funds that are expected to leverage an additional $130.5 million in public and private funds according to a statement from the governor's office.

"The revitalized development will provide housing and programs that will foster self-sufficiency among residents with a range of incomes," Acting Gov. Donald DiFrancesco said in a written statement.

"This grant will transform not only the nature of public housing, but the lives of people who have called the Lafayette Gardens their home," said U.S. Rep. Robert Menendez, D-Union City, who pushed for its award with the Department of Housing and Urban Development.

He said the grant will increase the number of affordable housing units available to Jersey City residents.

Lafayette Gardens is awaiting a transformation similar to that of the Curries Woods housing complex near the Bayonne border, where most of the crime-ridden, brick high-rises have been replaced with neat townhouses.  Crime is now down there, and neighbors say there's a true sense of community.

HOPE VI signals a change in public housing philosophies from high-rises to communities of townhouses, where mixed-income families sometimes share a street.  This $45 million installment is the latest contribution from the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development.

The remaining $10.9 million of the $45 million grant will go to the City of Bridgeport, where 62 units will come down, 30 new units will rise in their place and another 337 will be built elsewhere in the city.