Hudson River Housing’s Collaborative Approach to Affordable Housing in Amenia [Sponsored]
Since its founding in 1982, Hudson River Housing, a Dutchess County-based nonprofit with an original mission to provide emergency housing services and affordable rental housing, has evolved into a robust organization focused on strengthening communities in the Hudson Valley. In the last few years, its initiatives have included focusing efforts on the northeastern corner of Dutchess County, where they’ve been working hand-in-hand with the local community to create the kind of affordable housing residents so desperately need.
“We’re hoping to raise awareness about affordable housing and how it works,” says Hudson River Housing Director of Strategic Initiatives Elizabeth Celaya. “We’ve helped coordinate and support the Tri-Town Coalition in Amenia, the Town of North East (including the Village of Millerton), and Pine Plains, and pulled together stakeholders who recognize affordable housing’s benefits.”
Recently, Hudson River Housing acquired fifteen acres just north of the hamlet of Amenia. The organization’s Manager of Real Estate Development Javier Gomez has been working closely with Amenia’s Housing Board Chair Charlie Miller to develop the acreage in service to the community’s needs.
“One option currently under consideration is to create 21 new units as clustered one- and two-family homes, some with small accessory apartments,” says Gomez. “We’re working with a site engineer on site suitability, soil analysis, wastewater treatment, and so on. We hope to have a more fully developed site plan in the coming months to share with the community for their feedback.”
“So far, we have good community engagement, and we are hopeful that continues,” says Miller. “People have very common questions: What will it cost? Who will qualify?” He says the plan is for purchase prices and monthly rents to be based on a percentage of area median income, which means much of the Amenia community would qualify.
In contrast to developments that often see opposition and NIMBY (not in my backyard) sentiment from residents, the hope is that this collaborative, community-driven approach to creating new housing opportunities will lead to successful, integrated, and quality affordable housing. “There’s such a perception that affordable housing is for other people, or that it will change the dynamic of the town,” says Celaya. “But the fact is, this will serve the people who are already here.”
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