As part of its established goal to remove obsolete, nonviable public housing from its portfolio and replace it with appropriately-designed, quality housing, the East Orange Housing Authority (EOHA) commences demolition of Phase I and Phase II of Arcadian Gardens.
This marks the first phase of demolition activity at the 38 year old complex located at 27 Sussex Avenue that once contained 23 buildings and 212 housing units of low-income family & elderly units was built in 1969. The East Orange Housing Authority subsequently initiated a four phase campaign that began on Monday, September 15, 2003.
Demolition represents the passage of Arcadian Gardens into the annals of public housing. This development provided a safe, decent and sanitary living environment for many families, but has outlived its ability to offer the standard of living that our residents deserve.
“This effort is a continuation of our collaboration with Mayor Robert L. Bowser and Municipal Council to revitalize the city in general and the 4th Ward in particular.
The EOHA revitalization plan proposes total demolition of the existing site and creating a less dense, more livable community with townhouses and flats that have front and back yards, a building for the elderly, a state of the art community center and improved safety features by integrating public housing and homeownership units back on the site.
The complex was designed in 1965 with construction completed in 1967 and covers 9 acres and the materials of construction consist mainly of concrete masonry units and pre-cast concrete planks for floors and roofs.
Mazzocchi Wrecking of East Hanover, New Jersey was the general demolition contractor. After completing the demolition, utilizing HOPE VI demo funds, the proposed plan included replacing the development with lower density infill housing on site and gut rehabilitation of existing housing units located in the teen street area of East Orange. However, the HOPE VI funding did not come through and the redevelopment of the now vacant Arcadian Gardens site is under review.