Schenectady housing initiative adds investors, bank partners

PHOTOGRAPHER: Pete DeMola

SCHENECTADY — A coalition of investors and banks that have joined together to expand housing in Schenectady continues to grow.

The coalition — Live In Schenectady — has announced three new investors and two banks have joined the program.

The new investors include Curtis Lumber President Jay Curtis and Steven and Marie Taszycki, co-founders of Competitive Advantage Group.

Saratoga National Bank has climbed on board as an investor and lender, and Berkshire Bank signed on as a lender, according to a news release from the Schenectady-based Galesi Group.

The program is designed to gather private sector capital from investors and leverage the funding to construct new homes or repair vacant properties in the city.

Participating banks help new home buyers obtain financing.

The group of private investors committed to investing in Schenectady neighborhoods includes The Daily Gazette.

“We welcome these new investors and banks to this all-volunteer effort to replace vacant and blighted sites with new homes,” investor Jim Connolly said in a released statement.

Construction of six townhouse-style homes that are part of the $3.5 million Barrett Street housing project began last September.

Those homes are on track to have a sale price in the $200,000 price range, John Roth, CEO of Plank Construction Services, said at the time.

Altogether, Live In Schenectady has purchased 19 vacant lots and is building 15 townhouses scheduled to be completed later this year.

To date, more than $625,000 has been raised from 18 investors.

The Capital Region Land Bank also recently demolished two derelict buildings on Barrett Street adjacent to the new townhouses as a further boost to the neighborhood.