Controversial Gloversville apartment proposal resurrected

PHOTOGRAPHER: Jim McGuire

Kinderhook Development, in partnership with the local housing assistance agency Community Heritage Corp., has renewed efforts to build an $11 million, 48-unit low-income housing project on four acres off Lee Avenue and Northern Terrace.

The project was presented to the Common Council last year but languished when it was rejected for federal and state housing programs.

The developers revived the project in December, presenting it to the Gloversville Planning Board. The board discussed it again this week, declaring itself lead agency and resolving to contact other agencies as it begins a state environmental impact review.

Residents in the neighborhood oppose the project, arguing that it will exacerbate a long-identified drainage problem while also altering the character of the area. Kinderhook executive Donna Bonfardeci assured the board a water management plan devised by her engineering firm will address the drainage issue.

David Henderson, executive director of the Community Heritage Corp. — an independent body originally created as a subsidiary of the Fulton County Economic Development Corp. — said he was informed the Planning Board may decide at its February meeting to schedule a public hearing.

Fulton County Senior Planner Sean Geraghty, the adviser to the board, said the hearing may be held in March.

The complex would consist of four buildings, Henderson said, including eight one-bedroom apartments targeting primarily elderly residents, 32 two-bedroom units and eight three-bedroom units.

The complex seeks to qualify as an “Affordable Workforce Housing” project eligible for federal housing tax credits and low-interest, 30-year financing, Henderson said.

A chart provided by the developers estimates the qualifying income range for a one-bedroom unit would be about $14,000 to $27,000; $17,600 to $33,792 for a two-bedroom unit; and $21,075 to $40,464 for a three-bedroom unit.