A look at three affordable housing projects in Amenia

AMENIA —  According to a February resolution by the Amenia Town Board, the town is “experiencing a severe affordable housing crisis which was impacted and accelerated by COVID-19.”

Twenty-nine percent of homeowners and 45.9% of renters in Amenia are “cost-burdened” with regard to housing, meaning that they put more than 30% of their income toward housing costs. In order to combat this, three new affordable housing projects are currently being pursued in the town.

Hudson River Housing

Hudson River Housing (HRH), an affordable housing initiative group based out of Poughkeepsie, has acquired a 15.86-acre parcel of land just north of Amenia’s town center. HRH hopes to build seven duplexes, each consisting of one three-bedroom unit and one two-bedroom unit, as well as an apartment building consisting of 11 one-bedroom apartments on this parcel.

The organization will rent out each of the 11 apartments and sell each of the 14 duplex units to eligible families. As reported in The Millerton News, this was a shift from a prior plan that would have seen the organization sell each duplex to an eligible family, allowing the families to rent out the second unit.

According to a presentation by HRH to the town board, the duplexes will be affordable to four-person households earning less than 90% of the area median income, currently $107,640. The rental apartments will be affordable to two-person households earning less than 60% of the area median income, currently $57,420.

HRH has drafted design plans and is currently in the stage of receiving feedback from community members through September, after which it will seek public approval and financing and then begin construction. According to the timeline in the presentation to the town board, HRH hopes to begin construction in October 2024 and have the homes occupied in April 2026.

HRH anticipates that funding will come from “a mix of New York State and private lending sources, including housing program funds available through the NYS Office of Home and Community Renewal (NYSHCR).” According to Amenia’s 2022 town tax roll, the market value of the property is $225,000.

74 Lake Amenia Road

The town is looking to purchase and renovate 74 Lake Amenia Road, a single-family home on a 3.9-acre parcel. After renovation, the town plans to retain ownership of the home and rent it out as an affordable housing unit.

The town board passed a resolution Feb. 16 to direct $200,273 in funding received by the town as a result of the American Rescue Plan Act toward the “purchase and rehabilitation of the property.” The town has received other funding toward the project, including a $150,000 Dutchess Community Development Block Grant, $35,000 from the Amenia Housing Trust Fund and $15,000 from the Foundation for Community Health.

The town has also identified the parcel as a possible location for a wastewater treatment plant, though minutes from the Jan. 8 housing board meeting note that possible odor from the plant poses a concern. “We need to be careful about odor in the wastewater treatment plan so that we are not placing our only affordable housing in a location with a bad odor,” the minutes read.

According to Amenia’s 2022 town tax roll, the market value of the property is $262,300.

Habitat for Humanity

Habitat for Humanity of Dutchess County has expressed interest in purchasing a parcel of land currently owned by the town of Amenia. The 0.7-acre parcel is located on Depot Hill Road across from Railroad Avenue, southeast of the town center and adjacent to the New York state-owned parcel that makes up the Amenia portion of the Harlem Valley Rail Trail.

The minutes from the May 15 housing board meeting indicated that the board would compile a list of questions for the organization, including: “How long do families stay in these homes?” “When they depart do they tend to sell the homes, hand them down to future generations, or other outcomes?” and “Are there mechanisms to ensure that after the homeowner sells, the home remains affordable (without unduly encumbering the homeowner’s ability to benefit economically from home ownership)?”

At the July 20 town board meeting, the board passed a resolution to permit Habitat for Humanity to perform soil testing on the parcel before purchasing it. According to Amenia’s 2022 town tax roll, the market value of the property is $55,000.