A long-planned affordable housing project along one of Irvington's busiest corridors just picked up a major financial boost. The New Jersey Housing and Mortgage Finance Agency approved $3.19 million in loan financing for the 48-unit Springfield Gateway development, clearing another hurdle for a five-story building rising at the corner of Springfield Avenue and 21st Street.
The NJHMFA Board signed off on the mortgage loan commitment during its 538th Teleconference Board Meeting on September 3, according to New Jersey Housing and Mortgage Finance Agency records, which identify the project under tracking number HMFA #08029. The funding comes through the agency's Revenue Bond Financing Program, part of a broader $22.7 million capital stack that also includes $17.1 million in project equity generated by a 9 percent Low-Income Housing Tax Credit award the project received in August 2025, as reported by Real Estate NJ. The project received that tax-credit award in August 2025, per NJHMFA's spring reservation list.
Melanie R. Walter, the agency's executive director, said Springfield Gateway “invests in people facing barriers to safe, stable housing,” according to the same Real Estate NJ report. Walter added that the project will transform underutilized property into a welcoming community serving families, individuals and vulnerable residents.
Ten Parcels, One Development
Springfield Gateway assembles ten municipal parcels on Block 162 — lots 15 through 25, excluding lot 18 — spanning the street addresses 413-421 21st Street and 749-755 and 759-763 Springfield Avenue, according to Irvington Township's planning board records. Foya Development Group, the Irvington-based firm behind the project, partnered with the township to assemble and redevelop those parcels, Real Estate NJ reports.
The finished building will include eight one-bedroom apartments, 28 two-bedroom apartments and 12 three-bedroom apartments, per the same outlet's account. The 2025 NJ Counts Point-in-Time survey by Monarch Housing Associates recorded 2,291 homeless individuals in Essex County, while the statewide total was 13,748.
Local and County Money Joins the Mix
State financing isn't the only public money behind the project. The Irvington Municipal Council authorized a resolution this September committing $1,000,000 in federal HOME Investment Partnership funds to Springfield Gateway, according to Township of Irvington meeting documents. That follows an earlier proposal from the Essex County Division of Housing and Community Development, which in March 2025 moved to draw $500,000 in federal HOME-ARP funds to provide a 30-year loan for the project.
The housing need behind that public investment is substantial. Irvington has an identified “present need” of 1,404 deficient housing units requiring rehabilitation or replacement, according to the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs' Fourth Round NJHOMES Atlas dataset, which reflects current Mount Laurel municipal planning standards.
A Developer's Expanding Footprint
Foya Development Group is based in Newark and is led by Adenah Bayoh, who emigrated from Liberia at age 13 to escape civil war and grew up in public housing in Newark's South Ward before becoming a prominent Northern New Jersey affordable housing developer, according to the Low Income Investment Fund. A Hoodline article on Bayoh's Atlantic City project includes background on her Irvington projects. Her projects include a 56-unit apartment complex at 722 Chancellor Avenue and 280 Park Place, a 114-unit residential project built on the former Irvington General Hospital site, per that Hoodline article.
Springfield Gateway's location puts future residents within walking distance of the Irvington Bus Terminal and within four miles of Newark Penn Station, according to NJHMFA, along with proximity to Newark Liberty International Airport, Real Estate NJ reports. Springfield Avenue itself is one of Irvington's major commercial and residential corridors, and the project's backers say it will give residents access to employment centers, retail, services and destinations throughout Essex County and the wider region without requiring a car.
Developers plan to break ground on Springfield Gateway this fall, according to Real Estate NJ's reporting on the project timeline.
