State Funding will Help Create Affordable Housing Opportunities

ALBANY, NY (10/31/2007)(readMedia)-- Deborah VanAmerongen, commissioner of the State Division of Housing and Community Renewal (DHCR) today announced $4.46 million in grants and loans for the construction of new affordable housing.

Locally, The Carthage Apartments, which when completed will provide 40 affordable housing units, is set to receive $1.2 Million in loans and tax credits.

Governor Eliot Spitzer applauded the award, noting that the State funds would allow the developers of Carthage Apartments to leverage an additional $1.8 million in funding from other sources.

“Projects like Carthage Apartments help to strengthen the community and stimulate the local economy, in addition to providing much needed housing,” Spitzer said.

Commissioner VanAmerongen, who recently toured Fort Drum, said the growth of the Army base “has been a great benefit and provided a huge economic boost to the entire region; but it has also increased demand for affordable housing in and around Jefferson County.”

She said the DHCR “will continue to work hard to fulfill the Governor’s mandate to help Carthage and other local communities address their housing needs.

“Governor Spitzer has made it very clear from his first day in office that reviving the upstate economy and improving affordable housing opportunities across the state are two of his top priorities,” VanAmerongen said.

The $6 Million Carthage Apartments project is also receiving construction loans from Citizens’ Bank and the Development Authority of the North Country (DANC). Other partners include The DiMarco Group as developer, Baldwin Real estate Development Corp as management agent and ADG Architecture.

The DiMarco Group and Baldwin Real Estate Development Corp have completed more than 540 affordable housing units in 13 DHCR financed projects with a total development cost of more than $57 Million.

The funding was approved today by the State’s Housing Trust Fund Corporation (HTFC), a public benefit corporation which is chaired by Commissioner VanAmerongen and receives staff and administrative support from DHCR. The HTFC was created in 1985 to help meet the critical need for decent, affordable housing opportunities in New York State.

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