(WNY News Now) In an effort to battle poverty and offer affordable housing in the struggling city of Jamestown, a $2 million state grant will be used to renovate abandoned, condemned rental properties.
New York’s Jamestown The New York State Homes and Community Renewal Vacant Rental Improvement Program has granted $2 million to the City of Jamestown’s Department of Development in collaboration with Citizens Opportunity for Development and Equality (CODE Inc.).
In an attempt to turn abandoned and condemned housing units into reasonably priced long-term rental homes, the Department of Development and CODE Inc. submitted joint applications for more than $2.9 million in October of this year. The Department of Development and CODE Inc. were able to supervise the rehabilitation of up to or around 20 unoccupied housing units thanks to the collaborative work in this financing application, which led to a $2 million award. Only local landlords who oversee fewer than 20 units are eligible for this incentive. Additionally, up to 15% of the cash allocated may be used by CODE Inc. to renovate their own unoccupied, uninhabitable units.
Units eligible for V-RIP assistance up to $50,000.00 must be rented to a family or individual making at least 80% of the area median income, according to New York State regulations. Renters of units eligible for V-RIP assistance up to $75,000.00 must be individuals or families earning 60% or less of the area median income. As part of the program’s compliance criteria, these units have to continue to meet income requirements for ten years. Every year, official income criteria are published, and new numbers will be available in the upcoming months.
With 28.2% of its residents living below the poverty line, a median household income of only $39,507, and rising unemployment rates that have been especially bad since 2018, Jamestown faces significant socioeconomic challenges given its designation as an Opportunity Zone, a NYS Pro Housing Community, and a Justice40 community. With a high percentage of homelessness and poverty, the city’s housing stock is deteriorating due to neglect, aging, and damage. It is impossible to overstate the critical need for safe, high-quality housing to stabilize and rejuvenate this historically underprivileged neighborhood.
As the award acceptance procedure and program build-out take place, it is not expected that the public will be able to use this program for several months.