Legendary MC and renowned actress, Queen Latifah does not plan on leaving her hometown of Newark, New Jersey hanging. According to NJ.com, the All Hail the Queen artist is currently planning a $14 million dollar project that includes building affordable housing units in Newark.
Latifah’s company, BlueSugar Corporation is working with GonSosa Development on the project which is set to be an assemblage of multi-family townhouses and one three-story building. The development will entail 20 three family homes with a total of 60 units, and a 16 unit building which will be the affordable housing unit. The 60 units of multi-family townhouses will be at a market rate starting at $1,800 per month while affordable housing units will be priced by the income of the individual. The building will reportedly have a fitness center and there will be 1,900 square feet of commercial space that will be rented out to nonprofit organizations.
In a recent statement to NJ.com, Cristina Pinzon spokeswoman for BlueSugar and GonSosa said both developers recognize the current dire need for affordable housing in the city of Newark and are willing to help the city’s residents. “They understand how difficult it is to make ends meet for many residents and want to be part of the solution. They remain dedicated to making life better in communities like Newark,” said Pinzon.
The townhouses are expected to open by December 2020 and the affordable housing units have an estimated finish period in two years by December 2021.
The Hip-Hop trailblazer is often celebrated for her philanthropic loyalty to Newark. One year after the 1992 tragic death of her brother, Lancelot Jr. Owens, her mother, the late Rita. L Owens founded a college scholarship fund for low-income families in the New York tristate area in his honor, the Lancelot H. Owens Scholarship Foundation. Latifah later received the Newark Beth Israel Medical Center’s Community Award in 2013 in recognition of the effort. She also joined forces with former FLOTUS Michelle Obama as an advocate for her ‘Let Girls Learn’ initiative, a campaign dedicated to providing young girls all over the globe with an education. Queen Latifah is one of Hip-Hop’s most active when it comes to community building and as she hits the sector of property development, the “Ladies First” maker is bound to make history.
