Courtesy Bonacio Construction
Promenade Apartments, a $20 million affordable and supportive housing development located in downtown Saratoga Springs, has been completed.
Financed in part with $16.5 million in low-income tax credits through New York State Homes and Community Renewal, the development is providing 63 affordable homes, including 10 apartments reserved for homeless veterans.
Promenade Apartments consist of a four-story building with 41 apartments and three two-story townhouse-style buildings with a total of 22 units. Altogether, the development features 31 one-bedroom, 26 two-bedroom, and six three-bedroom apartments—all affordable to households earning at or below 80 percent of the area median income, state officials said.
It was developed by Norstar Development USA, LP, and the Saratoga Springs Housing Authority. Supportive services will be provided by the Veterans & Community Housing Coalition.
Amenities include Energy Star appliances, a community room with laundry facility, a fitness room, storage space for tenants and an outdoor playground area. The development is also located within a half-mile of retail stores, schools, bus transportation lines, pharmacies, banks, libraries, health centers, grocery stores and restaurants.
The units are at 1 South Federal St., on he same property at Stonequist apartments.
“As we build back New York better than it was before, we must acknowledge the critical role that affordable and supportive housing plays in helping grow vibrant communities throughout the state,” Gov. Andrew Cuomo said. “This development is providing affordable homes aimed at ensuring that Saratoga Springs remains a place where everyone has the opportunity to live, work and raise a family -especially those servicemen and women who served our country with honor.”
Promenade Apartments is part of the state’s $20 billion, five-year plan to provide all New Yorkers with access to safe, affordable housing by building and preserving more than 100,000 units of affordable housing and 6,000 units of supportive housing. Since 2011, New York State Homes and Community Renewal has invested $490 million in the Capital Region to create or preserve nearly 5,600 affordable homes.
State support for Promenade Apartments includes the allocation of federal and state low-income housing tax credits that generated about $16.5 million in equity from HCR. The New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) provided $64,800 in grant funding to the project through its Low-Rise New Construction program.
In addition, Key Community Development Corp. provided $2.9 million.
Saratoga Springs Housing Authority Executive Director Paul Feldman said, “Increasing the amount of affordable housing within the city has been a priority of the Saratoga Springs Housing Authority for years and we are very proud of the fact that we can now offer quality affordable housing to an additional 63 families who wish to reside in Saratoga Springs.
“This project took years of work behind the scenes and was truly a team effort, so we wish to thank our Development Partners at Norstar Development for leading this effort.
Richard Higgins President of Norstar Development USA, LP said, “We are proud and honored to have been a part of the Saratoga Springs Housing Authority’s development team. The Promenade Apartments will add much needed quality, affordable housing in the city of Saratoga Springs. We are very grateful to New York State Homes and Community Renewal, the city of Saratoga Springs, Key Bank, the design team at Balzer and Tuck Architects and the LA Group, and, the construction team at Bonacio Construction who all worked together to make this project a great success.”
Mayor Meg Kelly said, “As detailed in our 2020 Community Development Consolidated Plan, the creation of affordable housing continues to be an overarching priority for the city. I am pleased to say that we have made tremendous progress on this effort in the last five years.
“Seven projects with a possible 510 new affordable housing units have been completed, are currently under construction, or in the approval process. The Saratoga Springs Public Housing Authority has been a crucial partner in this effort -adding 63 high-quality units through the Promenade Project, and another 24 at the Vanderbilt and Jefferson Terraces, to be completed shortly.”
Assembly Member Carrie Woerner said, “I am delighted to see the Promenade Apartments opening to serve residents of Saratoga Springs. These beautiful apartments will help address the chronic problem of affordable housing in this city with thoughtfully designed dwellings in a convenient location.”