TROY – A $20 million project that would build 53 apartments for lower-income families in the city’s Hillside neighborhood won approval from two city oversight boards.

The Planning Commission and the Zoning Board of Appeals have reviewed and approved the proposed Hillside Views Neighborhood Revitalization project at their October meetings.

“We’re working hard to make it a reality,” Chris Burke, CEO of Unity House, said Thursday.

Unity House and TRIP (Troy Rehabilitation and Improvement Plan) have joined forces to redevelop eight sites in the area bordered by Ingalls Avenue on the north, 11th Street on the east, Hoosick Street on the south, and Fifth Avenue on the west.

Burke said obtaining the two approvals was an important step to take in moving ahead.

The Planning Commission completed the environmental review for the project and granted site plan review. The ZBA approved the variances – building setbacks and parking requirements – necessary to undertake the construction program. James Rath, the ZBA executive secretary, said that due to a procedural matter the ZBA may have to confirm its vote on the project when it meets Nov. 19.

The fill-in project targets sites at 479 10th St., 30 11th St., 530 Eighth St., 506 Eighth St., 313 Ninth St., 285 Ninth St., 69 Rensselaer St. and 22 Vanderhyden St. The locations are owned by TRIP or Unity House. TRIP acquired 69 Rensselaer St. from the Troy Community Land Bank.

Plans call for two residential units at 479 10th St.; four units at 30 11th St.; six units at 530 Eighth St.; four units at 506 Eighth St.; three units at 313 Ninth St.; two units at 285 Ninth St.; two units at 69 Rensselaer St. and 30 units at 22 Vanderhyden St

TRIP and Unity House envision the project eliminating blight, upgrading the streetscape in the neighborhood and providing new housing for families and individuals with an income of less than 60 percent of the area median income. The median income was $68,681 in 2017 for the Albany-Schenectady-Troy Metropolitan Area.

Unity House and TRIP are leading non-profits in working with the city’s lower income families. They plan to use private investment, tax credits and public funds to pay for the estimated $20 million needed to do the work.