Construction starts on $75 million rehab of 3 Northside Ithaca apartment buildings

To rehabilitate Ithaca's public housing stock and add more units in a sustainable manner aligning with Ithaca's Green New Deal, construction on a $75 million rehabilitation project in Ithaca's Northside neighborhood began Friday.

The construction project will preserve two outdated Ithaca Housing Authority properties with a total of 36 apartments and replace another obsolete IHA property with 82 new affordable apartments.

Two of the buildings, Overlook Terrace and Southview Garden, will be substantially renovated. Overlook Terrace has five residential buildings with 10 apartments. Southview Gardens has four residential buildings with 36 apartments, a community building, and a building for laundry and mechanical equipment.

Northside Apartments will be replaced by a new affordable development that will have 17 residential buildings with a total of 82 apartments — 12 more than the original because of a reconfiguration that will add much-requested one-bedroom apartments.

The new development will include a one-story community building with a kitchen, office spaces and a laundry room.

"This project has been a long time in the making," said Brenda Westfall, executive director of Ithaca Housing Authority and CEO of Cayuga Housing Development Corporation. "As we witnessed our most valued assets deteriorating and beyond repair, the hard decision was made to rehabilitate apartments … and to demolish and rebuild Northside Apartments."

What's in store for new Northside housing?

In total, there will be 20 one-bedroom units, 34 two-bedroom units, 40 three-bedroom units, 22 four-bedroom units, and two five-bedroom units. All of the apartments will be for households earning at or below 80% of the area median income.

"People don't understand the pride we had in Northside Apartments — the pride our kids had in Northside Apartments," said Travis Brooks, a Tompkins County Legislator who is a former tenant of Northside Apartments. "Brenda and the crew made it a point for tenants to have housing with dignity. You see the other housing units in the area — other people can't say that."

Brooks said his children looked at the plans for the new apartments.

"'It doesn't look like where I grew up,'" Brooks said. "But it will be better for the people."

The rehabilitation work will include individual apartment renovations such as the replacement and upgrade of doors, flooring, bathrooms, kitchens and appliances.

Major capital improvements will include mechanical and electrical upgrades, the replacement of water heaters and furnaces to an all-electric option, upgraded laundry facilities, and the replacement of entry doors, vinyl and aluminum siding, soffits and trim, windows and roofs.

The buildings have asbestos-containing material that will be remediated and/or encapsulated for a healthier living environment. Site work will include the replacement of existing concrete walks, fencing and landscaping.

When will Northside project will be completed?

The project encountered some delays.

"Through this process we always held tenants in high regard," Westfall said. "We protected and assisted tenants through the relocation process and helped them with paperwork, transportation and relocation assistance ... All the tenants were taken care of."

The stakeholders also ensured children could remain in their chosen school and would have transportation to their school.

The redevelopment project is scheduled to be completed in the summer of 2025.

"I get asked if there are still people who need affordable housing," said Laura Lewis, acting mayor for the City of Ithaca. "I say yes. There are still people we need to include in our city."

Assemblymember Anna Kelles said the increase in density was an act of justice: "economic justice, racial justice and supporting the integrity of our community."

All 118 apartments will be covered by new Project-Based Section 8 Housing Assistance Payment contracts issued under HUD guidelines for Public Housing Authorities.

The developer is a joint venture between 3d Development Group and Cayuga Housing Development Corporation, the nonprofit affiliate of the Ithaca Housing Authority.

"This is going to transform this neighborhood," said Bruce Lavine, president of 3d Development Group.

How Ithaca's redevelopment project has been funded

State funding for the $75 million Ithaca Housing Authority redevelopment includes $10.6 million in permanent tax-exempt bonds, Federal Low Income Housing Tax Credits that will generate $29.7 million in equity, and $18.8 million in subsidy from New York State Homes and Community Renewal. The redevelopment was awarded $1.4 million from the state's new Clean Energy Initiative for its plans to make all of the homes energy-efficient and use electricity as their only energy source.

The Clean Energy Initiative was developed by New York State Homes and Community Renewal and the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority to create more than 1,500 energy-efficient, all-electric or electric-ready, climate-friendly affordable homes in existing multifamily buildings across the state.

Following a construction project in Rome, the redevelopment project is the second project in the state to be awarded funds from the Clean Energy Initiative.

The projects align with Gov. Kathy Hochul's plans to make housing more affordable, equitable and stable. In the 2022-23 State Budget, Hochul introduced and secured a new $25 billion, five-year, comprehensive housing plan that will increase housing supply by creating or preserving 100,000 affordable homes across New York including 10,000 with support services for vulnerable populations, The same plan also outlines the electrification of an additional 50,000 homes.

Other funding sources for the project in Ithaca include $9.3 million from the Ithaca Housing Authority, $300,000 from Tompkins County Community Housing Fund and nearly $91,000 from Ithaca Urban Renewal.

This article originally appeared on Ithaca Journal: 3 Ithaca apartment buildings undergoing major $75M rehab