Governor Kathy Hochul announced a $75 million project to upgrade and preserve two outdated Ithaca Housing Authority properties with a total of 36 apartments and to replace another obsolete Authority property with 82 new affordable apartments.
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The 118-unit Ithaca Housing Authority Redevelopment is designed to be all-electric and was awarded funding through the Clean Energy Initiative program for multifamily buildings.
The Ithaca Housing Authority Redevelopment complements Governor Hochul's sweeping plans to make housing more affordable, equitable, and stable. In the 2022-23 State Budget, the Governor introduced and successfully secured a new $25 billion, five-year, comprehensive housing plan that will increase housing supply by creating or preserving 100,000 affordable homes across New York including 10,000 with support services for vulnerable populations, plus the electrification of an additional 50,000 homes.
As part of this redevelopment project, two of the buildings, Overlook Terrace and Southview Garden, will be substantially renovated. Overlook Terrace has five residential buildings with ten apartments. Southview Gardens has four residential buildings with 36 apartments, a community building, and a building for laundry and mechanical equipment.
The rehabilitation work will include individual apartment renovations such as the replacement and upgrade of doors, flooring, bathrooms, kitchens, and appliances. Major capital improvements will include mechanical and electrical upgrades; the replacement of water heaters and furnaces to an all-electric option; upgraded laundry facilities; and the replacement of entry doors, vinyl and aluminum siding, soffits and trim, windows, and roofs. The buildings have asbestos containing material that will be remediated and/or encapsulated for a healthier living environment. Site work will include the replacement of existing concrete walks, fencing, and landscaping.
Northside Apartments, with 70 apartments currently, is considered obsolete and will be demolished to make way for a new affordable development that will have 17 residential buildings with a total of 82 apartments - 12 more than the original thanks to a reconfiguration that adds much-needed one-bedroom apartments. The new development will include a one-story community building with a kitchen, office spaces, and a laundry room.
All three properties will be highly energy-efficient and have an all-electric building design pursuant to the New York's nation-leading Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act to curb building emissions. Additional energy efficiency measures will include heat-reflective roofing systems with tapered insulation, ENERGY STAR rated appliances, energy-efficient lighting and low-flow plumbing fixtures for a projected 15 percent in total energy savings.
In total, there will be 20 one-bedroom units, 34 two-bedroom units, 40 three-bedroom units, 22 four-bedroom units, and two five-bedroom units. All of the apartments will be for households earning at or below 80 percent of the Area Median Income.
Tenants at Southview Gardens and Overlook Terrace will be temporarily relocated and have the right to return to their original apartments.
All 118 apartments will be covered by new Project-Based Section 8 Housing Assistance Payment contracts issued under HUD guidelines for Public Housing Authorities.
The developer is a joint venture between 3d Development Group and Cayuga Housing Development Corporation, the nonprofit affiliate of the Ithaca Housing Authority.
State funding for the $75 million Ithaca Housing Authority Redevelopment includes $10.6 million in permanent tax-exempt bonds, Federal Low Income Housing Tax Credits that will generate $29.7 million in equity, and $18.8 million in subsidy from New York State Homes and Community Renewal. The development was awarded $1.4 million from the Clean Energy Initiative. Other funding sources include $9.3 million from the Ithaca Housing Authority, $300,000 from Tompkins County Community Housing Fund, and nearly $91,000 from Ithaca Urban Renewal.
The Clean Energy Initiative developed by New York State Homes and Community Renewal and the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority to create more than 1,500 energy-efficient, all-electric or electric-ready, climate-friendly affordable homes in existing multifamily buildings across the state. ■