Center Offers Support to Advance Housing Development in Adirondacks
Applications due Nov. 15 for assistance with initial development phases of potential housing projects
The Center is offering a new program that can help with the technical and time-consuming preliminary work related to building new housing in the Adirondacks. This program is part of the Center’s broader efforts to help create the conditions that will attract and retain year-round residents in Adirondack communities.
Through the program, the Center will partner with municipalities, nonprofits, businesses, and landowners who have identified a property suitable for development into year-round housing but who need assistance to fully evaluate the project.
“We know that the time and effort of taking the first steps toward housing development can be barriers to getting projects off the ground,” said Adam Bailey, Adirondack program manager for the Center. “We’ve learned a lot from our own housing projects and realize we can help others get through those first evaluation steps to determine if a project will work.”
The Center will work with 10 applicants to do an initial due-diligence review with a focus on feasibility and buildability. Five of those 10 projects will advance to the next phase of support for pre-development. The Center will make funding available for these projects to complete some pre-construction work, such as surveys, concept plans, environmental assessments, etc. The Center will then work with the five applicants to connect the project with potential developers.
Properties may be vacant land or include building rehabilitation. Proposed projects also may include a secondary, non-residential use. The proposed housing is not required to meet specific rent price caps, but projects should focus on affordable- and middle-market housing for year-round residents. Ideal properties will be in or near hamlet areas that are walkable to services, schools, and employers.
This project is made possible by grant funding provided by round 7 of the New York State Smart Growth Grant, administered by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation.
The Center will host a webinar on Oct. 29 at 1 pm to explain the project and process and provide an overview of the steps necessary to prepare a property for development. The webinar is free, but participants must register at: https://nfcenter.org/ADK-Housing.
Applications are due Nov. 15, 2024 by 5 pm. Additional information, specific scoring criteria, and a link to the application are included in the Request for Proposals, which can be downloaded from https://nfcenter.org/ADK_PreDev_RFP.
Applicants need not be the landowner but should be able to show landowner consent. There is no cash match requirement, but applicants are expected to be communicative partners and respond to deadlines throughout the process.
After reading the RFP and application, anyone with specific questions about the program can contact Adam Bailey at abailey@northernforest.org.
