State grant allows Beacon development to shift, again
Gov. Kathy Hochul on May 29 announced the first awards for the Mid-Hudson Momentum Fund, a $150 million initiative created to increase housing stock in the seven-county region.
One of the awards, for $2.5 million, will go to 2 Cross St. in Beacon, a mixed-use project that in April shifted seven of its 18 apartments from “affordable” to market rate. Developer Joe Donovan said on May 31 that the change was due to a delay in receiving a loan from New York State but that the Mid-Hudson grant makes it feasible to return to his original plan.
Donovan said he is hopeful construction will begin “within a matter of weeks” on the three-story, 24,000-square-foot building at the corner of Main and Cross streets. Of its 18 apartments, nine were to be designated for the “frail elderly,” above retail space on the street level.
That number is not confirmed but will be worked out in the coming weeks, Donovan said.
The Cross Street development was one of 13 projects receiving $67 million in funding that the state says will unlock more than $576 million in private investment and create 2,400 housing units, including more than 1,300 affordable units, throughout the region.
The Mid-Hudson fund focuses on mixed-use housing and infrastructure projects. The state said the winners in this round of funding were selected based on alignment with the Mid-Hudson Regional Economic Development Council’s strategic plan, public support, the number of affordable units being created and, for infrastructure projects, their ability to either create or upgrade systems that would increase housing density.
2 Cross St. has received several grants allowing Donovan to build below-market-rate housing. Last year it received $1.58 million from Dutchess County’s Housing Trust Fund, and the Dutchess Industrial Development Agency agreed to exempt the project from some sales, real estate and mortgage-recording taxes.
Rather than giving $2.5 million to a developer, it would be more effective for New York State to give each of the nine individuals it considers to be “frail elderly” $280,000 to buy themselves a house. My three-bedroom in a prime location in Beacon cost $250,000 in 2018. The market is driving costs up, and handouts like these are only making the problem worse. [via Instagram]
I can’t believe “frail elderly” is politically correct. [via Instagram]
How about not building anything there? There’s not a park as far as anyone can see. Pocket parks? A community space to gather? A green teen garden? A place where people can play music and get off the Main Street shuffle?
What is going on here? Who is calling the shots? “Affordable,” then not “affordable,” then back to “affordable”? Let us please replace [City Administrator] Chris White and whomever the current mayor taps to continue this nonsense. Not a peep on a communal space, or something for the community of Beacon, the youth or elderly. The fact that they can play games like this says a lot. [via Instagram]
What about Seeger Park, Long Dock Park, Memorial Park, Green Street Park and all the parks near Mount Beacon? There’s plenty of green space in Beacon — no need to dump on affordable housing. If we’re offered state funding for housing, we should take it. [via Instagram]
I have been a resident of Beacon for 23 years and raised my kids here but sadly can no longer afford to live here. It’s out of control! We didn’t need another building right there. And what is considered “affordable”? Greed, greed, greed. [via Instagram]
In this case, Dutchess County defines “affordable” as renting to tenants who earn no more than 80 percent of the area household median income, which, according to the most recent Census Bureau data, is $94,578 annually. That translates to about $76,000 annually per household.