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Dutchess County Housing Trust Fund

The Dutchess County Housing Trust Fund (HTF) was established in 2022 in response to long-standing housing availability and affordability challenges throughout the county. The HTF provides a flexible and nimble funding source to aid the implementation of a variety of affordable housing efforts as outlined in the 2022 Dutchess County Housing Needs Assessment

 

Funding Awards

The awards announced in March 2023, for the first funding round of the HTF's Housing Creation and Preservation program, totaled $8,996,134 as follows:

•    30-32 Smith Street.  New construction, three-family in the City of Poughkeepsie.  Three HCP units, three total units.  Funding award - $346,134.
•    9-13 Noxon Street.  Rehabilitation, 16 single-room-occupancy units in the City of Poughkeepsie.  16 HCP units, 16 total units.  Funding award - $1,910,000.
•    Two Cross Street.  New construction and rehab, 18 total units in the City of Beacon.  Nine HCP unit, 18 total units.  Funding award - $1,575,000.
•    Wallace Campus.  New construction and rehab, 187 total units in the City of Poughkeepsie.  29 HCP units, 187 total units.  Funding award - $2,200,000.
•    Alpine Commons.  New construction, 144 total units in the Town of Wappinger.  132 HCP units, 144 total units.  Funding award - $1,500,000.
•    Schatz Redevelopment.  New construction, 250 units in the Town of Poughkeepsie.  225 HCP units, 250 total units.  Funding award - $1,465,000.
 

Goals, Programs, and Eligible Activities

Goals of the Dutchess County Housing Trust Fund include:

  • Provide financial support for the creation of affordable housing distributed throughout Dutchess County.
  • Make affordable housing activities throughout the county more competitive for securing other funding sources.
  • Support housing which is a priority for the county but for which other funding is unavailable or very limited.
  • Prioritize projects that result in the creation of housing at higher levels of affordability.

The Housing Trust Fund's framework includes three overarching programs, each with a variety of potential eligible activities. For each funding round, the County will indicate which programs and activities are eligible for funding at that time. 

Housing Creation and Preservation (HCP) Program:

  • New affordable rental housing via new construction, rehabilitation of existing housing stock, and adaptive reuse of non-residential structures. Funded projects may be fully affordable or mixed-income. Single-room occupancy (SRO) rental housing is eligible under this category.
  • Acquisition-only for the creation of affordable rental housing (limited to projects by non-profit development entities).
  • Acquisition and/or rehabilitation of occupied, naturally-occurring affordable rental housing with income-eligible tenants to secure long-term affordability with applicable compliance periods.
  • Preservation/rehabilitation of existing affordable rental housing with expiring compliance periods.

Infrastructure and Pre-Development Support (IPDS) Program:

  • Expand/extend water and/or sewer infrastructure for affordable and mixed-income housing developments.
  • Development of generic environmental impact statements (GEIS) to streamline the development of affordable/mixed-income housing supported by the local municipality. GEIS must be supported by zoning to permit and streamline the creation of affordable housing via inclusionary zoning, density bonuses, or other strategies.
  • Zoning revisions to permit and streamline the creation of affordable housing via inclusionary zoning policies, density bonuses, or other strategies. A municipal match will be required.
  • Oversee administration of affordable units created via municipal inclusionary policies, density bonuses, or other strategies.

First-Time Homeownership (FTH) Program:

  • Support a locally-sourced program for subordinate or “soft second” mortgages to provide down payment and closing cost assistance for low- and moderate-income first-time homebuyers who can afford a mortgage but lack savings to cover the down payment and/or closing costs.
  • Support construction or rehabilitation to create affordable homeownership opportunities for first-time homebuyers undertaken by non-profit entities.

General HTF Reference Materials