Excellence Award Spotlight: Clinton Avenue Historic Apartments
Three restored rowhouses along Clinton Avenue. Photo by Preservation Studios
Home Leasing’s Clinton Avenue Historic Apartments project has been named one of this year’s Excellence in Historic Preservation award winners.
“Home Leasing is honored that the Clinton Avenue Historic Apartments has been recognized for this award,” said Bret Garwood, CEO of Home Leasing. “We are thankful to be part of the Arbor Hill neighborhood, and we owe the success of this project to a broad team of people who have helped bring these historic buildings back to life to provide much needed affordable housing for this community.”
The Clinton Avenue project involved the careful rehabilitation of 70 historic rowhouses spread across a one-mile span in the Clinton Avenue and Arbor Hill Historic Districts. The development includes 3 studios, 123 one-bedrooms, 68 two-bedrooms, and 16 three-bedrooms – a total of 210 apartments. The apartments provide housing for households who earn from 50%-90% of the area median income, providing much-needed affordable housing in the city of Albany. Supportive housing has also been included, with 40 units reserved in partnership with DePaul, who provides services under contract with the Office of Mental Health. The project includes six commercial spaces that will be utilized as the community’s leasing offices, a re-opened laundry facility, a barber shop, DePaul offices, and maintenance offices. When Home Leasing acquired the portfolio of properties in 2017, it was in foreclosure with eight buildings condemned and more than half the units vacant. It was a tremendous undertaking bringing these buildings back to life.
The project meets the New York Housing Finance Agency’s Green Guidelines, which sets high standards for energy use and efficiencies. The entire project also received Enterprise Green Communities Certification, meaning the buildings are designed to maximize fresh air indoors, minimize exposure to toxins and pollutants, and use less energy. Units have Energy Star appliances, water conserving fixtures, and high efficiency lighting. The restored apartments combine upgraded fixtures and appliances with preserved original decorative details.
“Restoring historic housing stock to create affordable housing is one of the most sustainable ways of addressing our current housing crisis,” said Preservation League President Jay DiLorenzo. “In rehabilitating 70 properties that were all in various states of disrepair, Home Leasing accomplished something truly impressive while breathing new life into an Albany neighborhood that will certainly benefit from this investment.”
Members of the project team and key stakeholders celebrated the project’s completion with a ribbon cutting ceremony.
The Clinton Avenue Historic Apartments project was funded thanks in part to federal and state Historic Preservation Tax Credits, federal and state Low Income Housing Tax Credits, NYS Housing Finance Agency (HFA) long term bonds, and a NYS Homes and Community Renewal (HCR) Subsidy Loan.
The Clinton Avenue Historic Apartments project team included: Home Leasing – Bret Garwood, CEO; Nelson Leenhouts, Chairman; Adam Driscoll, Owners Representative. Sarah Struzzi, Senior Vice President of Property Management and Operations; Josh Haley, Director of Leasing Operations, Katie Hart, Senior Regional Leader; and Home Leasing Construction. 3t Architects – Geoff Macdonald, Partner/Studio Director; and team. Engineering Solutions – Frank Castiglione, Mechanical Engineer. Hershberg & Hershberg – Dan Hershberg, Principal. Preservation Studios – Mike Puma, Principal. Betts Housing Partners – Chriss Betts, President. DePaul – Mark Fuller, President. Sustainable Comfort team.
Click here for everything about the 2021 Excellence in Historic Preservation Award winners!
Since 1984, the Preservation League’s statewide awards program has highlighted projects, organizations, publications, and individuals that exemplify best practices in historic preservation and recognize the people who are using historic preservation to build stronger neighborhoods, create local jobs, provide affordable housing, open our eyes to overlooked history, and save the places that are special to all of us.