New state program to rehab vacant and underutilized rental units

TICONDEROGA | One of the major impediments to rebuilding a thriving local economy in the North Country has been the lack of affordable housing and rental units. With no places for people to live, people simply can't relocate here, even if there is a want. New York State's Vacant Rental Program (VRP) is aiming to assist with the housing crisis, with Essex, Warren and Washington counties about to see some residential rental units put back on the market thanks to the grant funding. "This will be a massive benefit to the North Country because we are still in that fever pitch of a housing crisis," said Nicole Green, North Country Rural Development Coalition (NRDC) Executive Director. NRDC is the non-profit organization administering the grant. "We are starting to gain some ground and seeing results of a lot of the different grants and programs we have put in place between ourselves and partners over the past four years." Green said $2 million for the program was awarded across three counties (Warren, Washington, and Essex) and will result in over 20 apartment units created, some having already started up in Jay. "VRP awards between $50,000 to $75,000 per apartment unit to take units that don't have Certificates of Occupancy or have always been vacant and convert them to habitable apartments of quality," Green explained. Unlike other state grants, VRP comes with no match requirement from property owners and no funds needed up front, making it an easy-to-use funding source for small property owners, which account for a vast majority of clients in the North Country. VRP is also a brand new program with the state, and NRDC was one of the first awardees, which allowed for flexibility during program development, Green said. "We designed our program for the North Country to focus on second floors in historic districts that had traditionally been vacant in order to support the buildings and small business owners," she revealed. "We are basically building the city in our hamlets, which is part of our broader mission." The goal for a long time has been to densify the hamlets, but the availability of flexible funding sources that would allow for apartment creation for small property owners has been scarce. "A mom and pop who own a building and have their business on the first floor- and that is their bread and butter- have rarely had the liquid capital to invest in putting apartments on the second floor or maintaining them," noted Green. On Ticonderoga's Montcalm Street, two of those businesses a stone's throw away from one another that fit that description perfectly, are Burleigh's Luncheonette and Punky Noodles. "Burleigh's has multiple apartments up there they have rented, this one in particular lost its COO a few years ago because it needed a number of upgrades," said Green. "They were focusing on other improvements in the building- this is a perfect grant for them to get this unit back online and it will be beautiful when finished." Punky Noodles owner, Katie Andersen, has two units in her building that will be transformed into new units. Green said work will begin next week, and all three units should be ready for occupancy well before the snow falls. "I am super grateful that VRP is aiding in the process to restore a downtown building back to its full potential while, in turn, creating two additional housing options in our community," Andersen noted. There is a cap on how much rent property owners can charge tenants due to receiving the grant for free. They cannot charge more than market rate for the area, which Green said is close to $1,400 a month." "Both Burleigh's and Punky Noodles plan on charging less," she assured. "These apartments are targeted towards our younger workforce and are ideally for people who have gotten new jobs or looking to get a place on their own who don't want to buy a house yet." The VRP grant can also be used for homes that have been cut up into multiple housing units, but cannot be used for a building with more than five apartments in it. "This program is really designed to help small business owners and small property owners, not large real estate conglomerates who don't need the money," Green remarked. Round two for VRP grant applications will be opening soon, and anyone who didn't receive round one funding or weren't aware of the program are encouraged to visit northcountryruraldevelopment.org. "Property owners can apply and secure a spot on the waiting list," Green said. "I hope folks will take advantage of this."

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New state program to rehab vacant and underutilized rental units

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