South End Revitalization
Overview
Pursuant to several stakeholder meetings, extensive public input, and broad support, a proposal has been submitted to the New York State Division of Housing and Community Renewal for low-income housing tax credits and a loan under the HOME program. The purpose of this housing proposal is two-fold:
- To kick-off and support the revitalization effort underway in the South End.
- To begin to replace the Lincoln Square public housing towers to allow for the redevelopment of the Lincoln Square site and further support revitalization efforts.
This housing proposal is the first stage in a multi-year multi-phase multi-faceted effort to improve housing conditions in the South End, increase home ownership rates and replace an obsolete public housing facility.
Scope
The proposal consists of 52 residential apartments on two sites for low-income working families. The Broad Street or “Jared Holt” site provides an opportunity to develop 10 new infill apartments for large families consisting of 1 1-bedroom, 2 2-bedroom, 4 3-bedroom, 2 4-bedroom, and 1 5-bedroom units. The Morton Avenue site provides an opportunity to substantially rehab two existing apartment buildings, in the process reducing the total number of apartments from 60 to 42 consisting of 28 1-bedroom and 14 2-bedroom units.
Design
Newly constructed homes on the Broad Street site will be a series of two and one-half story and three story structures in rowhouse configuration. The structures are designed to complement the historic character of the surrounding neighborhood in scale, materials, and detailing. The site design uses “new urbanism” and “defensible space” techniques along with other design amenities such as off-street parking and common green space to maximize long term marketability and habitability. 15% of the units will be handicapped accessible. The Morton Avenue site will be a gut rehab of two existing apartment buildings that are currently a blighting influence to the surrounding neighborhood and would likely thwart revitalization efforts if not addressed now. The rehab will result in fewer but completely new larger apartments intended to maximize habitability and make the buildings a high quality housing asset for the community. Both sites will be a WiFi Hub in addition to meeting NYS DHCR Green Building guidelines.
Key Players
The South End Action Committee, chaired by Carolyn McLaughlin, leads the way with the vision and formulation of the long term plan. The Albany Housing Authority, Omni Housing Development LLC, and Capital City Housing HDFC have teamed to develop the housing proposed. The Community Preservation Corporation will provide project financing. Collins and Scoville Architects, PC is the project architect.
Follow-Up
Community Meeting Powerpoint Presentation
  
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