The Kingston-based nonprofit RUPCO will coordinate the rehabilitation of 80 vacant and uninhabitable apartments in eight Hudson Valley counties under a $5 million grant from New York state.
The apartments are located in the counties of Columbia, Dutchess, Greene, Orange, Putnam, Rockland, Ulster, Westchester, and Sullivan. The funding comes from the state’s Vacant Rental Improvement Program, which is administered by the Housing Trust Fund Corporation’s Office of Community Renewal.
Under the program, apartments that have been off the rental market because of their condition or the inability of landlords to afford to make them habitable are rehabilitated into safe and affordable homes for low-income and moderate-income tenants. Grants of up to $50,000 per unit are allowed if the rehabilitated apartments will be rented to tenants with household incomes of up to 80% of the Area Median Income (AMI). If the apartments will be offered to tenants with incomes of up to 60% of the AMI, the grants can be increased to up to $75,000.
The goal of the program statewide is to rehab up to 600 vacant apartments in communities outside of New York City. Organizations eligible for funding from the program must be incorporated as nonprofits in New York state. They must have been providing relevant services to the community for at least one year prior to application.
“At RUPCO, we are committed to expanding access to affordable housing and strengthening communities,” said Faith Moore, the organization’s senior vice president of housing programs and solutions. “This $5 million award will enable us to bring much-needed housing units back online, ensuring they meet the highest standards of safety and quality while remaining affordable for decades to come.”
Properties that can be rehabilitated through the program include residential buildings with one through five units, mixed-use buildings with up to five housing units or buildings that will be converted into those types.
According to the program, funding may be used to improve and rehabilitate vacant housing units and other vacant spaces, including commercial spaces. Repairs and improvements may include health and safety improvements, correction of code violations and updating spaces to meet residential standards, accessibility modifications, environmental remediation, and other repairs determined by the local program administrator as necessary to rehabilitate vacant units.
