Plans are underway to infuse one of Schenectady’s neediest neighborhoods with a bounty of new housing for low-income families, veterans and seniors, a first phase in what would amount to a multimilliondollar, multiphase redevelopment of Hamilton Hill.

The Community Builders, an Albany-based developer, is leading the redevelopment charge with the help of local and state officials. The first phase will include converting two old school buildings on Craig Street into affordable housing and renovating, demolishing and reconstructing nearly a dozen homes. Later phases call for redevelopment along Albany and State streets.

“This fulfills our mission, which is to build and sustain strong communities where people of all incomes can achieve their full potential,” said Jennica Petrik-Huff, project manager for The Community Builders’ Capital Region office. “We’ve been witness to the changes happening in Schenectady and just want to continue working with the city and the local stakeholders to  not only develop housing, but on some of the other priorities within Hamilton Hill.”

The nonprofit, mission-driven developer has developed and managed high-quality, affordable housing in more than a dozen states, collaborating along the way with neighborhood groups, residents, public and private agencies, and philanthropic interests. It opened an office in the Capital Region 13 years ago and was responsible for a $6 million rehabilitation of 20 buildings into 40 rental units in Schenectady’s Vale neighborhood nearly a decade ago.

Now, it’s embarking on a much larger project. The first phase of the Hamilton Hill project would cost about $17.5 million, officials say. It’s contingent on state funds and tax credits, with financing expected from a number of sources.

The old Horace Mann Elementary School at 602 Craig St. would be converted into 34 affordable housing units for seniors and veterans as part of a development called Hillside View. The three-story building was previously home to the Carver Community Health Center (known later as Schenectady Family Health Services, then Hometown Health Center). It’s been vacant since 2005, and now requires substantial rehabilitation to ensure its long-term viability, the developer says in project materials obtained by The Daily Gazette.

“Conversion to a housing use is critical for the historic preservation of one of the many abandoned schools that should be saved in the Capital District,” it says.

The $10 million rehabilitation would be extensive, requiring layout reconfiguration, updating all mechanical, electrical and plumbing systems, upgrading the building envelope and the addition of a fourth story. The developer would use sustainable design, construction techniques and materials. Once complete, it would feature permeable paving, photovoltaic panels and a community room with a computer lab.

The Community Builders submitted applications for state funding in December, including requests for $2.4 million from the Housing Trust Fund and $6.1 million in Federal Low-Income Housing Tax Credits. Other financing would come from the developer, the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority and the Federal Home Loan Bank of New York.

The old St. Columba’s School at 400 Craig St., known today as the Boys & Girls Club, would be converted into 17 housing units on the second and third floors. The first floor would remain community space. Outside, a six-unit housing rental would be built fronting Stanley Street and a twounit housing rental would be built fronting Emmett Street. These units would be open to income-eligible families.

The Boys & Girls Clubs of Schenectady currently houses a clubhouse and administrative offices at the building. Executive Director Shane Bargy says the organization is preparing to move its administrative offices to a temporary home sometime next year, though it’s unclear where that will be just yet.

For the past year, it’s been looking for land close to Mont Pleasant Middle and Pleasant Valley Elementary schools, where it can build a new clubhouse that features a center for teenagers. More than 500 children from the 12307 ZIP code attend these schools, he said.

“We’re in nine schools,” Bargy said, “so in the interim, once we’re out of the building, we will redirect any children that want Boys & Girls Club programming to our school sites, which are in our neighborhoods.”

The developer is also in the process of buying up 10 individual parcels in the vicinity for redevelopment. Four have been identified so far for redevelopment. The developer is requesting area and use variances from the Schenectady Board of Zoning Appeals to demolish vacant two-family homes at 716 and 720 Stanley St., combine the lots and build two new attached, two-family houses in their place. It’s asking permission to do the same thing at 310 Craig St. and 807 Emmett St.

Almost all the properties involved in the first phase of the project don’t currently pay any taxes. Schenectady Metroplex Development Authority Chairman Ray Gillen said payment-in-lieu-of-taxes agreements could be negotiated for some of them.

“These are old schools that have never been on the tax rolls,” he said. “If we do PILOTs, they would be paying far in excess of what they’re paying now.”

Metroplex and city officials offered a tour of the neighborhood to The Community Builders in August, but plans have been in the works since at least late last year.

“This has the potential to be transformative,” said Mayor Gary McCarthy. “It’s somewhat preliminary, of course, but I see it as kind of the progression of coming out of downtown, where we’ve had really a remarkable transformation.”

Although Metroplex and city officials have focused redevelopment efforts in some city neighborhoods over the years, the bulk of Schenectady’s redevelopment and revitalization has occurred downtown. Residents and officials of distressed neighborhoods regularly expressed hope that the attention would turn their way soon.

Work got underway this summer to clean up blight along Eastern Avenue, a longdistressed neighborhood that serves as a gateway to downtown.

Hamilton Hill Neighborhood Association President Marva Isaacs said her organization was approached several months ago about the revitalization project. They have a meeting with the developer next month to discuss the affordability of the planned new housing.

“We want to know about the rent, like how much they’re going to charge these people, because these people cannot pay a lot of rent,” she said. “There’s definitely a need for new housing and better housing, because there’s a lot of homeless people right now who need housing. I hope when they build these houses, there’s rent that is reasonable.”

The project has generated interest in the neighborhood from other developers, local officials said. Gillen confirmed that DePaul, a Rochester-based developer, is eyeing affordable housing possibilities along Albany Street, but declined to offer more information, citing the preliminary stages of that project. Company officials could not be reached Friday.

“We’ve been able to generate a lot of interest,” McCarthy said. “In terms of potential impact, it has the potential to be a transformational undertaking that gets people rethinking their options and the value of living in that neighborhood.”

PATRICK DODSON/GAZETTE PHOTOGRAPHER

The old St. Columba’s School at 400 Craig St., known today as the Boys & Girls Club, would be converted into 17 housing units on the second and third floors under a plan by The Community Builders, an Albany-based developer.

Above: Two vacant homes at 716 and 720 Stanley St. in Schenectady are seen on Friday. Below: The old Horace Mann Elementary School at 602 Craig St., which would be converted into 34 affordable housing units under the plan. Left: A lock on the doors of the

former school.

 

PATRICK DODSON/ GAZETTE PHOTOGRAPHER