DHCR Announces $32 Million in Awards for Affordable Housing Developments

ALBANY, NY (12/02/2009)(readMedia)-- Deborah VanAmerongen, commissioner of the state Division of Housing and Community Renewal (DHCR) today announced $32 million in grants that will help to build or rehabilitate 755 affordable homes for low-income families, frail elderly and people with disabilities.

Governor David A. Paterson said, "These awards will help generate more than $140 million in investment and direct economic activity, help to create jobs, and, most importantly, provide affordable housing for vulnerable New Yorkers."

Commissioner VanAmerongen cited the "collaboration between DHCR, local governments, other state agencies and private sector investors to make these housing opportunities a reality. These are obviously very difficult times, and resources are limited. But by creating partnerships and coordinating our efforts, we have managed to make the most of our investments."

The developments awarded grants utilize many energy-savings measures, including low-flow plumbing fixtures, high performance windows and Energy Star rated appliances, lighting fixtures and HVAC systems.

The projects, which include urban, suburban and rural developments, received funding through DHCR's Housing Trust Fund Program (HTF) and the New York State HOME program. The awardees are:

Buffalo and Western New York

• St. Martin Village in the City of Buffalo received $2.4 million in HTF program funds. The project involves demolition of eight buildings, construction of six new buildings and substantial rehabilitation of two buildings at the site of a former orphanage. The project will provide 60 units for low income households and families in recovery from substance abuse. The City of Buffalo and Key Bank provided additional funding for the development.
• Holy Family Senior Apartments in the city of Buffalo received $2.14 million in HTF program funds for rehabilitation of a former school building that will provide 35 units for very low income and frail elderly residents. Additional funding was provided by the City of Buffalo, and project amenities include an elevator, patio, discount broadband internet service and a computer lab.
• Beechwood Apartments, in the town of Albion, received a HOME program grant of $1.2 million. The project will preserve a US Department of Agriculture Rural Development facility with 30 units of affordable housing for low and very low income households. The development includes five two-story buildings which will be converted to gas heat. Additional funding is provided by the US Department of Agriculture.

Rochester and the Southern Tier

• 1630 Dewey Avenue in the City of Rochester received $2.4 million through the Housing Trust Fund (HTF) Program. The project involves demolition of an existing, non-residential building and construction of a three story, elevator-equipped building with 80 units for very low income and homeless people. Funding partners include the City of Rochester and the state Housing Finance Agency and the Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance.
• Mills at High Falls Phase II in the City of Rochester received $2 million through the HTF program. This project involves the adaptive reuse and substantial rehabilitation of a three story historic building with 21 units for very low income families and people with physical disabilities. Additional funding was provided by the City of Rochester and through the State and Federal Historic Tax Credit programs.
• Kirkwood Senior Housing in the town of Kirkwood, Broome County, was awarded $2.4 million through the HTF program. The project involves the new construction of 32 units for low-income seniors. Additional funding was provided through NBT Bank.

Capital Region and Hudson Valley

• Pendell Commons, in the Town of Poughkeepsie, received an HTF program award of $1.95 million. The project involves new construction of 73 rental units in four buildings, plus a community / clubhouse building. Forty-eight units are intended for families and 24 units for seniors. Financing partners include Dutchess County and the Community Preservation Corporation.
• Hyenga Lake Apartments in Rockland County was awarded $2.4 million in HTF program funds. The project is new construction of a three-story, elevator-equipped building with 66 units for low income and frail elderly residents.
• South End Revitalization (Phase II) in the City of Albany was awarded $2.4 million in HOME program funds for a combination of new construction and rehabilitation of existing buildings that will provide 43 units for low and very low income families.
• Livingston Arms Apartments in the City of Poughkeepsie will provide 34 units for very low income families and people with physical disabilities. The project received $1.7 million in HTF program funds for the rehabilitation and preservation of 26 affordable housing units that were approaching the end of their regulatory period. Another eight units which are currently unregulated, will be rehabilitated and made affordable. Additional funding was provided by JP Morgan Chase and the Dutchess County Weatherization program.

Syracuse

• Toll Road Senior Apartments in North Syracuse received $2.4 million through the HOME Program. This new construction will provide 60 units for low-income households and frail elderly residents and includes elevators, laundry facilities and community rooms. The building will be situated in an East-West direction to take advantage of passive solar heating and cooling. Additional funding was provided by Onondaga County and the NYS Energy research and Development Agency (NYSERDA).

NYC and Downstate

• The Mews at Baldwin Place in the town of Somers, Westchester County, was awarded $1.98 million in funding through the HTF program. The project is the new construction of two buildings with 73 units for very-low income and frail elderly residents. All units are handicapped accessible, and each building is equipped with laundry facilities, community rooms and tenant storage. Funding partners include Westchester County and the Community Preservation Corporation.
• The Sixty at West 1st Street in the city of Mount Vernon, Westchester County, received a HTF award of $1.85 million. The project, which is new construction of 43 units for very-low income families, includes a community room and laundry facilities. Additional funding was provided by the City of Mount Vernon, Westchester County and the Community Preservation Corporation.
• Anderson Avenue, in the Bronx was awarded $2.4 million in HTF program funds. The project is new construction of an eight-story building with 41 units for very low income families. The project includes two elevators, a residents' lounge, computer room, laundry facilities and landscaped back yard. Additional funding was provided by the NYC Department of Housing Preservation and Development, NYS Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance (OTDA) and the Federal Home Loan Bank.
• 35 Bartlett Street, in Brooklyn, received a HTF award of $2.4 million for the new construction of an eight story building with 64 units of rental housing for low and very low income residents. Additional funding was provided by the NYC Department of Housing Preservation and Development, NYS Energy research and Development Agency and JP Morgan Chase.

The awards were approved by the state's Housing Trust Fund Corporation, which is chaired by DHCR Commissioner VanAmerongen and administered by DHCR staff.

The New York State HOME Program uses federal HOME Investment Partnership Program funds for a variety of activities through partnerships with counties, towns, cities, villages, private developers, and community-based non-profit housing organizations. The program provides funds to acquire, rehabilitate, or construct housing, or to provide assistance to low-income home-buyers and renters.

The Housing Trust Fund Program provides funding to not-for-profit corporations or charitable organizations or their wholly-owned subsidiaries, housing development fund companies, municipalities, housing authorities, private developers who make equity investments in a project and who limit their profits, or partnerships in which the non-profit partner has at least a 50 percent controlling interest.