$30 million housing project made possible through USDA loans

12/2/2011

A combination of unique partnerships and investments from private entities has spurred a low-income apartment rehabilitation project in Watertown, New York, the Watertown Daily Times reports.

Rochester-based Conifer Reality set a goal of assisting in the turnaround of as many as 254 housing units within eight complexes in five surrounding cities by November 2012.

The project, expected to cost at least $30 million, is being partially funded through a USDA loan via the department's Office of Rural Development. The USDA will be providing more than $9 million to the initiative.

"It's something that absolutely has to be done. We need this housing. Not only in North Country but throughout rural New York," Michael Bosak, state director of Rural Development's multiple-family housing program, told the news source.

Other entities assisting in that project include the Development Authority of the North County, which is contributing a 15-year loan of $500,000, as well as $7.1 million from the Housing Finance Agency. A near $2 million investment from the Federal Home Loan Bank of New York is in place as well.

According to the Kingston Times, restoring "dilapidated" buildings for affordable housing use ignites local economies and creates jobs.