County Considers ‘Micro Projects’ for Affordable Housing
County officials are considering a series of small property acquisitions that would sprinkle one to three units of affordable housing on parcels in hopes of helping the county comply with the federal housing settlement.
Board of Legislators Chairman Michael Kaplowitz said last week the county has been slowly adding to its new affordable housing stock, sometimes a single unit at a time, since the settlement went into effect in 2009. Recently, there has been a cluster of new proposals Kaplowitz referred to as “micro projects” that have come before lawmakers, he said.
He said that the small projects have been beneficial because they not only provide much-needed housing for a future household that might not be able to otherwise afford a place to live in the area, but because it usually only entails minor work on already existing residences. Therefore, there isn’t the public opposition that has sometimes surfaced with the larger projects.
On Aug. 10, the Board of Legislators authorized appropriation of up to $300,000 to buy a .3-acre parcel with an existing two-family house at 300 King St. in Chappaqua and sell it to Habitat for Humanity for $1, according to the board’s resolution. The organization and its volunteers will convert the house into a structure containing two three-bedroom units.
Yesterday (Monday), the board’s Committee on Labor, Parks, Planning and Housing considered five other small acquisitions throughout the county. They include a $493,000 purchase of a two-family house at 72 Croton Ave. in Cortlandt, a .67-acre property; acquisition of a two-bedroom condominium at 60 Oregon Ave. in Eastchester for up to $310,700; a two-bedroom condo sale at 70 West St. in Harrison for up to $296,355; a $321,500 purchase of a one-bedroom condo at 100 Cedar St. in Dobbs Ferry; and a two-bedroom condominium at 208 Harris Rd. in Bedford for $277,925.
Families that meet the income eligibility guidelines for the affordable housing units would be in line to move into the residences should the acquisitions be approved.
Kaplowitz said that the burst of activity with the individual sites is not part of a new strategy to try and inch Westchester closer to the finish line, adding that the county will still need larger projects to comply with the settlement.
However, he did acknowledge that Westchester has little time to spare. It must have financing in place for 600 units by Dec. 31, 2015, and must finish by the end of 2016. On July 30, Norma Drummond, the county’s deputy commissioner of planning, told The Examiner that there were 468 units financed under the terms of the settlement.
“There’s a little bit of time left, but it’s getting late fast,” Kaplowitz said.
In addition, the Town of Somers and Kearney Realty and Development Group are prepared to enter an intermunicipal agreement with the county to have various infrastructure improvements completed to help pave the way for 16 additional affordable units. Those units would be part of the Hidden Meadow project, a 53-unit development on Route 6 in Somers.
Martin has more than 30 years experience covering local news in Westchester and Putnam counties, including a frequent focus on zoning and planning issues. He has been editor-in-chief of The Examiner since its inception in 2007. Read more from Martin’s editor-author bio here. Read Martin’s archived work here: https://www.theexaminernews.com/author/martin-wilbur2007/
