Rehabilitation has begun for Olbiston Apartments. What we know now
Almost one year after 60 residents were evacuated from their Olbiston Apartment homes due to unsafe conditions, the City of Utica announced the beginning of the rehabilitation and modernization of the once luxurious apartment complex at 1431 Genesee St.
At a news conference Wednesday, Utica Mayor Robert Palmieri joined other dignitaries and project developers in breaking ground for the new modernization on what he described as "an extremely emotional day."
The project establishes a partnership between the City of Utica, the New York State Homes and Community Renewal and Rome-based developer Liberty Affordable Housing.
"We're talking about a historic building, a gem in the city of Utica that was overgrown, couldn't see the beauty of it," Palmieri said. "Now today we're gonna break ground on a $67 million project to bring life back into a building that has historic value to it, to be able to bring the men and women and families back into a well-established, clean, safe environment."
Project details and timeline
Liberty Affordable Housing is taking on the $67 million project, which will establish 153 to include studios, one-bedroom and two-bedroom apartments. The real estate developer purchased the apartments in December 2021.
Renovation on the turn-of-the-20th-century structure began April 1 and will finalize in 2024, said Randy Denton, executive director of Liberty Affordable Housing.
The first phase consists of environmental remediation, which includes asbestos removal, but also a "full gut rehab," essentially the demolition of interior finishes down to the structural elements, Denton said. When finalized, the new renovated apartments will feature modern appliances, marble floors, a community space along with on-site laundry facilities, a computer room, storage areas and outdoor green space.
While the building will face a full renovation, Denton said, the developer wants to maintain the historic character of the Olbiston Apartments, Denton said.
All apartments will be income-based housing and will be available to people who earn 80% of area median income or less, said RuthAnne Visnauskas, Commissioner of NYS Homes and Community Renewal, one of the financing partners.
How is the renovation of the Olbiston Apartments being funded?
The project is being funded through about $18 million in historic tax credits from the State Historic Preservation Office and National Park Service as well as private investors, the City of Utica, and the New York State Homes and Community Renewal, which requires a regulatory agreement to ensure that the building is occupied by low income residents, Visnauskas said.
The City of Utica allocated $3 million through the Utica Prosperity Initiative, which comes through the American Rescue Plan Act stimulus.
"We want to make sure that we're giving towns and cities around the state the opportunity to invest in the places that they see is their priority so they can continue to grow," Visnauskas said.
Olbiston Apartment sale:After closure, Utica's Olbiston Apartments has been sold, will be renovated
Olbiston building historyFrom the 1900s to today
Why is the building being renovated?
The July evacuation of the Olbiston Apartments was the culmination of years of decay, which included several code violations such as water damage from deficient roof, broken windows, failing fire systems, ceilings caving in, deterioration of entrance steps, asbestos, mold and structural issues that the previous owner, Brooklyn-based owner Rizaro Utica LLC, did not address.
Over the years, all but two of the building's seven floors were closed due to the deteriorating roof, forcing tenants to move to lower floors.
The City of Utica filed a lawsuit with the previous owner for "gross negligence," which was dropped after Liberty Affordable Housing purchased the apartments.
"The most difficult thing was not building the partnership, (it) was witnessing what was transpiring inside this building or the lack of what was transpiring in this building, the conditions that some of these people were living under," Palmieri said.
The Mayor also described evacuation of former tenants as a "catastrophic event," where the city had no alternatives due to the unsafe living conditions. About 60 residents, some of them long-time tenants, were displaced.
Will former Olbiston Apartment residents be able to return?
All the former residents have been placed in new homes, Palmieri said, but they will be given the opportunity to apply to move back into the renovated Olbiston Apartments or stay in their current housing if they prefer.
"It's not just the residents who were here, it's gonna be the residents who want to be here now because it's going to be renovated, it's going to be cleaned, it's going to be upgraded, it's going to be in the heart of the City of Utica," he said.
This article originally appeared on Observer-Dispatch: Olbiston Apartments in Utica will include 153 units after evacuation
