By DEBORAH E. LANS
GHENT–Columbia County greeted the new year with positive steps toward addressing the affordable housing crisis that it, like most of the nation, faces. The county became the first, and so far the only, county in the state to achieve 100% “pro-housing” certification, meaning that every one of the county’s 23 municipal units has formally stated its commitment to “Pro-Housing principles” as articulated as part of the state’s Pro-Housing Communities Program.
Certification is important in the funding process. Currently some eight state funding programs either condition participation on Pro-Housing certification, or favorably weight participation in the scoring of grant applications.
The steps contemplated by the program include streamlining permitting, and enacting policies that encourage a broad range of housing development, for multifamily, affordable, accessible or supportive housing; adopting policies that affirmatively further fair housing; and incorporating regional housing needs into planning decisions.
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Late in 2024, RUPCO, a Hudson Valley non-profit property developer committed to meeting local needs equitably, was awarded $5 million in Vacant Rental Improvement Program funds by the state. Columbia County will participate in the program, through which grants are awarded for the repair and rehabilitation of vacant buildings for use as rental housing. The repair, rehabilitation and maintenance of existing building stock is often the fastest and least expensive means to create new housing units.
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In Hudson, the city was awarded two important grants by the state’s Office of Community Renewal: $520,000 to be re-granted, in turn, to homeowners to make critical home repairs in owner-occupied single family homes (the HOME program) and $120,000 to be used to make accessibility modifications to income-qualified owner- or renter- occupied homes (Access to Home program).
According to Michelle Tullo, the city’s Housing Justice Director, both programs are already accepting pre-applications through the city’s website.
The HOME program is intended to help homeowners make repairs that will allow them to stay in homes that require significant repairs, such as to roofs or heating systems. After homeowners have submitted pre-application materials, the city will have the properties inspected. Repair costs and feasibility will be assessed and a blind selection committee will make awards.
The Access to Home program is intended to fund accessibility modifications (such as ramps, grab-bars, non-slip flooring) that will enable people to remain at home rather than having to move to institutional settings. The application process will be the same as that for HOMES grants and it is possible that an applicant could receive monies through both programs.
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Also in Hudson, the scattered-site project to provide affordable rental and owned properties has been modified. The site on Rossman Avenue that had been intended for owner-occupied housing proved unfeasible for construction. Accordingly, while the Mill Street site is still planned for some 70 rental units, the site on North Fourth Street will now be used to build 24 affordable condominiums, eligible for state assistance to income-qualified applicants and therefore allowing a pathway to home-ownership. The Mill Street project has cleared the planning and zoning process and funding is actively being sought. The Fourth Street project is currently going through that process.
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The Columbia County Land Bank, that was formed in 2024 is likely to acquire its first properties in the first quarter of 2025, according to Chris Brown, Housing Development coordinator at the Columbia Economic Development Corporation, who will administer the land bank under the leadership of town supervisors Brenda Adams (Canaan) and Ron Knott (Stuyvesant). A land bank is a not-for-profit entity that specializes in the transformation of vacant, abandoned and foreclosed properties into productive use. Most commonly, land banks acquire property through the tax foreclosure system. A property is foreclosed, and then transferred to the land bank, which may pay the back taxes, so that the local taxing authority is made whole.
Land banks are recognized as an effective tool to resolve situations of tax delinquency and blight. Typically, land banks seek to sell their properties, often in aid of the rehabilitation or construction of affordable housing. For example, the Albany County Land Bank returned 118 properties to productive use in 2022 alone.
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Meanwhile, third quarter 2024 market data from the New York Association of Realtors (NYSAR) (the latest available) showed that Columbia County continues to see an increasing affordability problem, with a decline in homes available for purchase and an increase in prices. As compared to November 2023, the November 2024 figures showed 13.6% fewer new listings, 9.4% fewer homes for sale than one year ago and a 28.7% increase in median sales prices (from $435,000 to $560,000). Even more telling, compared to 2019 there are 57.3% fewer homes for sale in Columbia County and the median sales price is 85.9% higher now, according to the Q3 2024 Hudson Valley Regional Housing Market Report issued by Pattern for Progress.
To contact reporter Deborah E. Lans, email deborahlans@icloud.com.
