Kennedy cuts the ribbon
NEWBURGH – A more than $1.1 million project at 197 Lander Street highlights the initiative to revitalize distressed housing sectors in Newburgh and represents a significant investment by the Orange County Office of Community Development.
With funds obtained through the Housing and Urban Development HOME program, the county Office of Community Development contributed $450,000 to the project, which was unveiled with a ribbon cutting on Thursday.
Mayor Judy Kennedy said she is excited about the redevelopment effort and the quality of the apartments.
“This is the perfect kind of project,” Kennedy said. “I’m so excited to see this happen and be done on another street, another corner, that used to be a drug infested mess.”
The rehab of the apartment complex was performed by Affordable Housing Concepts for $866,000 and has given new life to the historic building that was previously in a state of disrepair.
The new apartments will be rented at affordable rates – $525 a month for one-bedroom units and $1,040 for two-bedroom units. In fact, Keith Libolt of Affordable Housing Concepts said they have already found tenants for the bottom two apartments they were hoping to offer to the chronically homeless. Now, a Cuban refuge and a young woman who could not afford housing anywhere else have places to live, he said.
Newburgh will be continuing projects like this into the near future. Kennedy said a partnership between the city, Safe Harbors and RUPCO is seeking funding for redevelopment project that would include 17 buildings and 41 apartments.
The mayor believes funding will be confirmed within the next week and if it is, work on the project should commence in the summer of 2015.
