Woodstock Commons wins full funding

Woodstock Commons, a $14.1 million, 53-unit affordable housing project in Woodstock has announced it will receive full funding and will break ground on the project next spring.   ?“We are elated, excited and energized,” said Kevin O”™ Connor, executive director of Rural Ulster Preservation Co. RUPCO, which proposed the project

O”™Connor said this was the third time the state has approved funding for the project, though earlier funds had to be declined because of the length of the review process.? “We are going to give Woodstock one of the most beautiful affordable housing complexes ever built in this state,” he said.  “It is a well-designed project, sustainable as well as affordable.  And certainly, the need for this housing has only increased during the last five years.”

The project has been planned and scrutinized for seven years, before winning Woodstock town planning board approval Aug. 4.

Funding for the project was awarded Aug. 26 in two grants including $2,135,000 from the Housing Trust Fund and $265,000 from the Infrastructure Development Demonstration Program, along with annual allocations of Low Income Housing Credits ($1,090,286 per year) and State Low Income Housing Credits ($500,000 per year) that will fully fund the project.   ?The housing is to be built on 27 acres behind the Bradley Meadows shopping plaza on Route 212 and will be clustered on about seven acres of the property. The buildings will seek LEED certification for their energy efficiency characteristics. The project seeks to provide housing both for starter families and senior citizens in the same complex, a unique intergenerational approach to housing. Another unique feature are plans for a dozen units to be set aside for artists.