Residents, Staff and Board members joined invited guests in the groundbreaking ceremony for the Multi-purpose Building at 465-475 Broadway, Newark on December 21, 2005.

Dignitaries in attendance included the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the Provident Bank, Mr. Paul M. Pantozzi, Essex County Executive Hon. Joseph N. Vincenzo, the Director of the HUD Newark Field Office Ms. Diane Johnson, the Assistant Commissioner of the NJ Division of Mental Health Services Mr. Kevin Martone, the Councilman for the City of Newark-North Ward the Hon. Hector Corchado, the Director of Essex County Division of Housing & Community Development, E. Michael Taylor and the Director of Housing and Community Development at the NJ Division of Mental Health Services, Ms. Patti Holland.

Mr. Raul J. Mendes, Executive Director of Project Live thanked those who ventured to come in wintry weather to witness the ceremony. Mr. Mendes extended warm and heartfelt thanks to representatives of funding sources - The Provident Bank, Essex County Division of Housing & Community Development, the US Department of Housing and Development, JPMorgan Chase and the Provident Bank Foundation and the NJ Division of Mental Health Services.

The newly constructed, Project Live, Inc. Multi-Purpose Building will create a very unique space of affordable housing, social services, recreational and employment opportunities for consumers of mental health services. This innovative site will also meet the growing administrative and training needs of Project Live staff. The Multi-Purpose Building will allow Project Live staff to work more efficiently, with agency resources at one central location.

Project Live's vision was to develop a site that serves as the hub of activity where consumers of mental health services could begin to prepare for a better life. Out of this vision came a site that will include, (5) one-bedroom condominiums, a state of the art training center, as well as, a consumer-operated Self-Help Center into the plans. The Center will provide social and educational activities to both tenants of Project Live, as well as, other consumers of mental health services from throughout Essex County.

The Project Live Multi-Purpose Building will provide many opportunities for consumers, staff and Self-Help Center visitors to engage in a variety of entertainment, job-readiness and skill-building activities.

This broad concept has rarely, if ever, been seen in Newark's history of affordable housing.