POUGHKEEPSIE – The developer of Crannell Square, a new mixed-income housing complex in the city held a ribbon-cutting on Friday that drew many city, county, and state officials to applaud the latest investment in Poughkeepsie.
First announced in 2018 by Kearney Development, leaders were formally introduced to the mixed-income apartment complex at the intersection of Mill and Catharine Streets on Friday.
Crannell Square contains 75 one-, two-, and three-bedroom apartments and is “A vibrant mixed-income community that provides safe and affordable housing to 75 families,” Vice-president Sean Kearney told the audience at the ceremony.
Kearney had purchased a 1.2-acre section of the large, underutilized parking lot near the Chance Theater from the city for $462,000, returning the property to the tax rolls.
Mayor Rob Rolison said it is a needed addition to the city.
“To the Kearney team, they have filled the need for housing options for people. We know that; we need that. This is a beautiful building,” he said.
The site had been used for commercial and residential purposes dating back as early as 1887 until about 1960. It had been used for an auto repair shop, private garage, warehouse, and school – eventually used as a boarding house/hotel. In 1963, the city developed the property as a municipal parking lot, to service the “Main Mall” that used to exist in the city. “We were able to take a contaminated, underutilized former urban renewal site and turn it into what you see here today,” Kearney said, pointing at the new four-story structure.
City Councilwoman Natasha Cherry was a proponent of the plan since its inception and praised the Kearney family for their work in bringing it to fruition. “Mixed-income housing is the foundation for vibrant, thriving neighborhoods,” Cherry said. “For our children to be able to live in high-quality housing that their families can afford, can change the trajectory of a child in poverty, especially when it comes to their outlook on life and what they can dream to do.”
“Kearney Development continues to fill the need for housing that people can afford in Poughkeepsie,” Mayor Rob Rolison declared, noting that Kearney also built the Queen City Lofts on Main Street that includes mixed-income housing along with businesses such as Zeuss Brewing Company.
Construction began in July of 2020 after the developers received approval for their remediation efforts from the DEC.
The incomes of the tenants ranges from $28,000 to $108,000 annually.
