The Hamilton
Poughkeepsie, New York

Description

• Infill, new construction on a former brownfields site
• Victorian era design that reflects the city's urban streetscape
• Central element of   City's downtown revitalization efforts
• 54 new apartments affordable to low income families above ground floor commercial storefronts, with green walkway and playground in rear
• 7 ground floor apartments are handicap accessible and have been occupied by persons who are mobility impaired

Developer
Pennrose Properties
Duvernay + Brooks LLC

Architect
Architects Unlimited, Inc.

General Contractor
Lasberg Construction Associates, Inc.

Management
Pennrose Management Company

The Challenge

For a number of years, the City of Poughkeepsie had been seeking to rebuild a vacant, contaminated 1.6 acre site on Main Street that had contributed to the blight of downtown Poughkeepsie and was a deterrent to the City's revitalization efforts.   A combination of environmental contamination, a weak downtown economy and a lack of developer vision had stifled this property's redevelopment.   In 2002, the Pennrose and Duvernay + Brooks development team presented a redevelopment plan to the Mayor of Poughkeepsie, which was enthusiastically embraced by the City's leaders.   Less than two years later, with funding from multiple, competitive sources in hand, the development team had broken ground on a new, mixed-use, affordable community.

The Solution

The Pennrose - Duvernay + Brooks team presented a vision for an attractive, mixed-use development that addressed the City's need for quality, affordable housing; included ground floor retail space appropriate for a downtown location; and offered a creative building design that is consistent with the City's Victorian era architecture.   After receiving enthusiastic support for this plan from municipal and county leaders, as well as local residents and businesses, the team proceeded to pull together the numerous sources of financing that were needed to make the project feasible.   A successful funding application a few months after being designated to develop this site resulted in an award by the State of New York for a large, and extremely competitive, allocation of low income housing tax credits and a low-interest Housing Trust Fund loan.   These funds together with the award of federal HOME funds from the city and county and a Federal Home Loan Bank grant were critical to the financial success of the Hamilton.    During construction, management of the environmental remediation process and related regulatory oversight as well as the construction of the building on an urban infill site were other key factors to success.

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