UTICA — Officials on Oct. 31 gathered for a groundbreaking ceremony to mark the start of construction of the $15.8 million Roosevelt Residences project at 1515 Brinckerhoff Avenue in Utica. More than 70 local, state, and federal officials, as well as neighborhood residents, community agency representatives, and development team members, attended the ceremony, the Municipal […]
UTICA — Officials on Oct. 31 gathered for a groundbreaking ceremony to mark the start of construction of the $15.8 million Roosevelt Residences project at 1515 Brinckerhoff Avenue in Utica.
More than 70 local, state, and federal officials, as well as neighborhood residents, community agency representatives, and development team members, attended the ceremony, the Municipal Housing Authority of the City of Utica said in a news release.
The Municipal Housing Authority of the City of Utica (Utica MHA) is working with Norstar Development USA, L.P., and Norstar Building Corporation on the project.
Norstar Development is headquartered in Concord, Ontario with a U.S. corporate office in Buffalo.
“Norstar is very proud of our partnership with the Utica Municipal Housing Authority. Having worked with them to design and develop this exciting Roosevelt Residences project, we are now very much looking forward to delivering high-quality, affordable housing to the Cornhill neighborhood of the City of Utica,” Richard Higgins, president of Norstar Development USA, said in the release.
The Roosevelt Residences project involves the construction of 50 affordable-housing units contained in 25 new buildings on 11 scattered sites in the Cornhill neighborhood.
A total of eight units will be set-aside for homeless veterans and for other “chronically homeless” populations. The project also includes the construction of a new resident center.
“I think it very fitting that this site which was once a school, will now be a healthy and safe environment for some of Utica’s families. Roosevelt Residences will be a place for them to live and grow and have a positive impact on the neighborhood and city,” David Williams, chairman of the Municipal Housing Authority of the City of Utica board of commissioners, said.
Financing for the development includes $8.21 million in tax-exempt bonds and mortgage loans from New York State Homes and Community Renewal (HCR), $1.2 million in funding from HCR’s supportive-housing opportunity program, $3.99 million in funding from HCR’s new-construction program, $1.44 million in funding from the Housing Trust Fund Corp’s (HTFC) Homes for Working Families Program, and an annual allocation of $631,108 in low income tax credits, according to a separate news release on the project from the New York State Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance. HTFC is part of New York State Homes and Community Renewal.
The balance of funding for the project is provided by a $770,000 award through the New York State Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance’s Homeless Housing Assistance Program, a $127,000 award from the New York State Energy and Research Development Authority, and $500,000 through the City of Utica HOME program.
