TRENTON, NJ−A $61.2 million affordable apartment community opened here Friday with fanfare, winning much praise for its design and for coming to fruition – alongside some scathing criticism of the decrepitude of neighboring apartment buildings from Trenton's own acting mayor.

The 204-unit Rush Crossings is the biggest residential development to occur in Trenton in more than a decade. Pennrose Properties got behind it in 2010, announcing it would build on the former site of the Miller Homes housing project.

The state Housing and Mortgage Finance Agency backed the project with $31.7 million in grants and through the sale of tax credits that generated $21.6 million in private equity. Both the developers and HMFA officials expressed their pride at a ribbon-cutting Friday, or in published statements.