Two affordable housing projects in Utica have been completed: the renovation of the 93-unit Chancellor Apartments and the transformation of a warehouse into the 74-unit Broad Street Apartments, which include 24 units with supportive services set aside for at-risk youth, Gov. Kathy Hochul announced.
The $101 million projects, known collectively as Impact Utica, were developed by People First, Inc., Utica’s housing authority; and Troy-based housing developer Vecino Group New York with funding from Utica and the state.
“By preserving critical public housing units at Chancellor Apartments, creating new affordable apartments at Broad Street and supporting at-risk youth,” Hochul said in a statement announcing the project completion, “we are revitalizing Utica and ensuring public housing residents of all generations have the opportunity to thrive.”
All of the apartments in both buildings will be affordable to households earning up to 60 percent of the area median income.
About the projects
Broad Street Apartments converted a four-story vacant warehouse originally built in 1903 as the Avalon Knitting Mill, which is listed on the State and National Registers of Historic Places. Work included repairs to the exterior façade, installing historic period-appropriate windows and adding an open courtyard.
Supportive services to 24 units housing at-risk youth will include case management and referrals to job training and education.
Rehabilitation work on the six-story Chancellor Apartments, a public housing project built in 1978, included a new roof, sidewalk repairs and improved kitchen layouts.
“To me, the most important part of affordable housing is creating a space in which people can make a home, and do so proudly,” Utica Mayor Mike Galime said in a statement. “The most recent renovations and developments of People First are shining examples of this.”
Both projects were also designed for energy efficiency.
Broad Street Apartments meets 2020 Enterprise Green Communities criteria with energy-efficient measures such as increased insulation and an energy recovery ventilation system.
The rehabilitation of the Chancellor Apartments reduced expected energy use y 20%, officials said. And it was designed to Affordable Multifamily Energy Efficiency Program standards, including the installation of electric air source heat pumps and energy-efficient lighting throughout the building.
Funding for Impact Utica included:
“The completion of this transformative project is a powerful example of what we can achieve when we work together to address community housing needs,” said Robert Calli, executive director of People First, in a statement. “This development provides safe, stable homes and supportive services to help residents improve their quality of life, thrive, and become self-sufficient.”
New York State Homes and Community Renewal has now financed more than 800 affordable homes in Oneida County.
Hochul has a five-year, $25 billion housing plan, included in the fiscal year 2023 budget, to create or preserve 100,000 affordable homes statewide.
The fiscal year 2025 budget included new tax incentives, capital funding and protections for renters and homeowners to increase the state’s housing supply. And the fiscal year 2026 budget includes more than $1.5 billion in new funding for housing, a housing access voucher pilot program and policies to make housing more affordable for both renters and homebuyers.
“By combining resources like our historic properties with incentives like the rehabilitation tax credit programs, communities can create vibrant, reclaimed spaces that have immediate positive impact on the lives of New Yorkers today,” said Randy Simons, commissioner pro tempore of the state Office of Park, Recreation and Historic Preservation, in a statement.
“Tying the past to the future is a great strategy as we aim to invest in our neighborhoods, expand housing opportunities, and plan for the future.”
This article originally appeared on Observer-Dispatch: Chancellor Apartments rehab done; Broad Street Apartments open in Utica
Reporting by Amy Neff Roth, Utica Observer Dispatch / Observer-Dispatch
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