ALBANY, N.Y. /New York Netwire/ — N.Y. Governor Andrew M. Cuomo on Tuesday announced $91 million in awards for shovel-ready projects to build affordable housing across the state. The low-interest loans and tax credits will build and preserve 2,060 units of affordable housing and are expected to leverage more than $485 million in grants, loans and private resources.
“As New York’s economy gets back on track, today we are announcing awards to partners who, through a rigorous application process, presented worthy, shovel-ready projects across the state — development that will create jobs while building and preserving affordable housing for our residents,” Governor Cuomo said. “By streamlining the application process, New York State is removing barriers that held back economic development for too long and made government inefficient. These funds will leverage hundreds of millions of dollars in private resources, creating valuable partnerships as we work to rebuild communities and create jobs in all corners of the state.”
The funds were available through New York State Homes & Community Renewal (HCR)’s Unified Funding Application, a single-source process to apply for several funding streams for affordable, multifamily developments, part of the Governor’s efforts to break down the inefficient and duplicative silos that had previously governed state funding. In total, HCR will make 33 awards, totaling over $91 million in low-interest loans and tax credits that will build and preserve 2,060 units of affordable housing. The projects are expected to leverage over $485 million in grants, loans and private resources.
HCR Commissioner/CEO Darryl C. Towns said, “Governor Andrew Cuomo charged state agencies to bring state resources together with local and federal resources in the most productive way. For us, that means working with our partners, including local governments and many of our sister state agencies, to create and preserve affordable housing. We have found impressive projects in each and every region of the state that will make a real difference in local communities.”
In this round of funding, applicants competed for: low-interest loans through the Low-Income Housing Trust Fund Program (HTF); Federal Low-Income Housing Tax Credits (LIHTC); the HOME Capital Program; and State Low-Income Housing Tax Credits (SLIHC).
Highlights of the awards in each of the state’s ten Economic Development Regions include:
Capital Region
Winn Development Company — $4.3 million for Livingston Apartments; adaptive reuse of vacant Livingston Middle School in Albany, transforming it into 103 units of housing for the elderly, including 16 supportive units for the frail elderly. The City of Albany is an investment partner.
Central New York
Atonement Housing Corporation — $3.24 million for Joslyn Court III and IV; demolition and new construction of 36 affordable rental units on Syracuse’s south side. The City of Syracuse is an investment partner.
Finger Lakes
DePaul Properties, Inc./Betts Housing Partners LLC — $5.7 million for Rochester View Apartments; new construction of 60 rental units in the Town of Henrietta (Monroe County). The project will provide 33 units for low-income individuals with psychiatric disabilities, and 27 units for low-income persons with hearing impairments. Coordinated investment with NYS Office of Mental Health (OMH) and Homeless Housing and Assistance Corporation (HHAC).
Long Island
Conifer, LLC — $2.1 million for Wincoram Commons; mixed use new construction of eight commercial units and 98 rental units for low and moderate-income individuals and families. Part of the local redevelopment strategy for the hamlet of Coram, within the Suffolk County Town of Brookhaven, the project was endorsed by the Long Island Regional Economic Development Council and awarded funds from Empire State Development (ESD).
Mid-Hudson
Regional Economic Community Action Program, Inc. & Excelsior Housing Group, LLC – approximately $2.9 million for the Mill at Middletown (Orange County); adaptive reuse of a former mill into 42 rental units for low-income individuals and families, with 13 units set aside for persons with special needs, including five units for persons living with AIDS. Coordinated investment with NYS Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services (OASAS) and the Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance (OTDA).
Mohawk Valley
Birchez Associates, LLC & Omni Housing Development LLC — $3.9 million for Birches at Schoharie; new construction of 71 rental units for low- and moderate-income seniors in the Village of Schoharie, a community devastated by Tropical Storms Lee and Irene.
New York City
Dunn Development Inc. – Over $1.7 million for Bergen Saratoga Apartments; new construction of 80 rental units for low-income households, including 40 units for those who are or are at serious risk of becoming chronically homeless. Supportive services for these households will be provided by CAMBA, Inc. of Brooklyn. Rental subsidies for half the units will be provided by OMH as part of the NYNYIII agreement with the City of New York.
North Country
Georgica Green Ventures, LLC & White Birch Enterprises LLC — $1.85 million for Woolworth Watertown; adaptive reuse of the historical FW Woolworth Building in downtown Watertown (Jefferson County) into a 50-unit rental unit project for low-income households.
Southern Tier
Lakewood Development LLC — $3 million for Norwich Shoe Apartments; demolition of four blighted buildings and new construction of 34 rental units for low-income individuals and families, with seven units set-aside for persons with developmental disabilities. Located adjacent to the City of Norwich’s (Chenango County) Business Improvement District, the project is a coordinated investment with Office of People with Developmental Disabilities (OPWDD).
Western New York
People United for Sustainable Housing, Inc. — $3.5 million for Mass Ave Community Homes; new construction of 28 rental units and rehabilitation of 18 rental units in 16 buildings in Massachusetts Ave Green Corridor on Buffalo’s West Side. State will partner with PUSH Buffalo.
Complete details of all awards are available here: http://www.nyshcr.org/Funding/Awards/UnifiedFunding/2013/awards.pdf
