Officials broke ground on the Hillside View complex in Schenectady Tuesday, setting the stage for Hamilton Hill to have two new affordable housing developments by this time next year.
Project and local leaders gathered just across the street from the old St. Columba’s School on Craig Street Tuesday afternoon to celebrate the project and hold a ceremonial groundbreaking. The $20 million development will create 58 apartments for families and seniors. Buildings will be open and available to residents in stages starting in September, with the final building completed by May 2018.
Hillside View will include studio, one-bedroom, two-bedroom and three-bedroom apartments. Of those, 25 units will be designated for seniors, and 33 will be labeled family apartments.
The development is the result of rehabbing or demolishing eight buildings in Hamilton Hill. Among those are the former Horace Mann School at 602 Craig St., the former St. Columba’s School at 400 Craig St. and multiple buildings along Stanley Street.
The facility will include on-site laundry, parking, recreational space, playgrounds and two community rooms with a computer lab and a common kitchenette. A number of community groups, including Capital Roots and The Wright Family Foundation, will provide programming and other services on the first floor of 400 Craig St.
The project is the work of The Community Builders, Inc., and benefits from an array of funding sources. The project received $2.2 million in state funding from the New York State Homes and Community Renewal program.
The development was aided by an additional $14.7 million in equity investment between historic and housing tax credits, $1.25 million in federal funding, $660,000 in affordable housing program funds and $500,000 from the city of Schenectady.
In the wake of the apartment development, the Schenectady Boys and Girls Club relocated late last year from 400 Craig St. to Martin Luther King Elementary and the Steinmetz Career and Learning Academy. There was no delay in programming, and the club is working toward a new center.
Hillside View is the second affordable housing development under construction in Hamilton Hill. The Joseph L. Allen Apartments, a roughly $18 million project at 780 Albany St., will provide 51 units for low-income individuals. That development is well underway, and is slated to open to residents in October.
Officials expressed optimism at Tuesday’s event that the two housing projects will spur further development in the neighborhood.
“This is in true partnership to build quality housing where quality housing is needed, and also to create a sense of pride that will help rebuild this neighborhood,” Schenectady County Legislature Chairman Anthony Jasenski said.
Categories: -News-, Schenectady County
