Affordable Housing Opportunities Arise

Within the last month alone, Hudson River Housing, Inc (HRH) has helped twelve Dutchess County families purchase their first homes. Six of these families received homes as part of HRH’s subsidized Conklin Street Homeownership project. By spring this year, six more families will be able to take advantage of a similar opportunity to purchase a home through HRH’s Poughkeepsie

Homeownership Assistance Program. The Poughkeepsie Homeownership Assistance Program consists of the construction of six new two-family homes on vacant lots on the North side of the City, All six homes will be sold to low - income first-time homebuyers.

The six homes are located at 107 Thompson Street, 123,143, and 145 North Hamilton Street, and 160 and 162 North Clinton Street. Each home contains a rental unit, the income from which can be used to offset mortgage costs. All six properties that are part of the Poughkeepsie Homeownership Assistance Program were transferred to HRH from the City of Poughkeepsie for the purpose of creating affordable housing. “This Program promises to have substantial impact on the City of Poughkeepsie,” says Karen Wellwood, Manager of Housing Development for HRH. “This project is part of a larger overall strategy which has had a much-desired ripple-effect, complementing the other development efforts and helping to restore the public’s perception of the City of Poughkeepsie as a safe, exciting and interesting place to live in, work in, and visit.”

Funding for the Program is being provided by the NYS HOME Program, the NYS Affordable Housing Corporation, NeighborWorks America, the Federal Home Loan Bank of New York, and the Community Preservation Corporation. This funding will be in the form of down payment assistance, which will bring the subsidized cost of the homes to $183,000 each. The homes will be available for first-time homebuyers whose household incomes are under 80% of the area median income. The City of Poughkeepsie First-Time Homebuyer program will offer grants of up to $8,000 to assist with closing costs and/or additional down payment assistance. Hudson River Housing is able to offer counseling and assistance to prospective applicants through our Homebuyer Education Programs.

An information session for those interested in purchasing one of the homes will be held January 25th at 6:00 pm at Hudson River Housing’s administrative offices, 313 Mill Street, Poughkeepsie, NY. Applications for the program will be available following the information session, Those interested in learning more about the Program and registering for the information session may contact the office by calling (845) 454-5176.

Hudson River Housing (HRH) has substantial experience in developing and managing affordable housing in the community. HRH was created in 1982 to address the emerging homeless problem in Dutchess County, and is now a large, multi-service provider of housing and other services to a wide range of underserved populations.

The expertise of Hudson River Housing is increasingly relied upon to inform local planning related to housing, community development and homelessness. Since its formation, Hudson River Housing has developed 33 affordable homeownership opportunities, nearly 300 apartments and 8 commercial spaces. For more information, please call (845) 454-5176 or visit www.budsQnriverhQusing.org.