Syracuse, N.Y. – The city plans to build 50 new houses for first-time, low-income homebuyers in the next two years, according to Syracuse housing officials.

The $13 million project, which Mayor Ben Walsh will highlight in his State of City message on Thursday, would create the largest number of newly built homes for sale in the city in decades, housing experts said.

A second part of the plan would add another 75, two-family rental homes to the city. The total plan would create 200 new, street-level homes throughout Syracuse in the next few years. The project is being reported for the first time today by syracuse.com | The Post-Standard.

The goal, Walsh and housing experts say, is about more than increasing the city’s inventory of quality, affordable homes. For the first time, city officials are using a wealth of Census, economic and housing data to zero in on specific Syracuse blocks that have a combination of empty lots and steady residents.

Walsh says filling in those lots will do more than provide new homes. The investment, he and others said, could spark growth and community on streets throughout the city.

“We’re filling existing gaps in blocks in neighborhoods,” Walsh said of this housing strategy. “And in doing so, we will initially stabilize and change the trajectory of these neighborhoods.”

The housing project is a piece of his overall Resurgent Neighborhoods Initiative, which he’ll also talk about at 7 p.m. Thursday at SUNY Upstate Medical University.

New houses aren’t wholly new to Syracuse in recent years. But most new housing construction since the 1960s has been for renters rather than owners, according to local officials.

Home HeadQuarters, a partner in this new project, built 25 houses for sale in Syracuse in the past decade, according to its director, Kerry Quaglia.

Now, it’s planning to build 25 stand-alone houses this year, and another 25 in 2021, he said.

“It’s aggressive,” he said of the project, “but the time is right.”

Syracuse’s housing inventory is aging, with some neglected properties too far gone to save. In past years, Home HeadQuarters has recruited and helped a steady stream of first-time homebuyers who prove the market for more stock is there, Quaglia said. The Syracuse Greater Land Bank has a slew of properties ready for development.

“We have ready buyers,” he said. “We can help with financing.”

Plus, officials said, the project comes as much of the city’s public housing will be rebuilt in the Blueprint 15 plan. That plan means to transform more than 1,000 units of public housing into a neighborhood with mixed income housing, a new school, grocery stores and more. While that housing will be replaced, many may need another place to live during construction.

The 200 new homes would be built throughout the city: on the Near West Side, near Elmwood Park, on the North Side and on the South Side.

This “scattered site” approach isn’t random. The city has spent a year working with Home HeadQuarters and Housing Visions, another local housing agency, to use property data, Census numbers and topography maps to find parcels that make sense to develop. The lots are flat, without the need for expensive retaining walls. The city or Land Bank already own the properties, which will fast-track transfers.

Most importantly, the prospective lots are on blocks that include some stable, long-term neighbors, according to Stephanie Pasquale, the city’s outgoing commissioner of Neighborhood and Business Development. Filling those gaps in key areas, she says, can lead to better property values, more neighborhood stability and improved quality of life for the whole block.

“There’s something psychological about building new houses,” she said. “There’s a brand-new house on our street. There’s a benefit. It’s planting seeds.”

The plans for the 50 new houses for sale are still developing, and the city hasn’t yet secured all $13 million needed, the mayor said.

“There’s money still to be found. That’s going to be a priority of ours going forward,” Walsh said. “We are going to need additional public dollars to make this project work in the way we envision it.”

Home Headquarters, a non-profit that helps develop houses for first-time home buyers, would build the 50 new three- and four-bedroom homes and pay the construction costs upfront. The houses cost more than $200,000 to build, Quaglia said. But they’d sell to qualified buyers for about half that, closer to $120,000, officials said.

That means the mortgages would cover about half the $13 million investment. The other money would come from multiple sources, mostly state and federal housing dollars, Pasquale and Quaglia said.

Walsh said he aims to put the $875,000 the city gets annually in federal housing money toward the project. He added he’s also looking for private partners in the project.

Additionally, the city is about to apply for a $2 million grant from New York’s Affordable Housing Corp. to help with the cost. Pasquale said Schenectady recently won a similar grant. “This is a big ask,” she said, “but it’s not unprecedented.”

The budget for the 75 new rentals is still being planned. Housing Visions would develop, manage and own the rentals, said Mike La Flair, a spokesman with the agency. The construction money would come from a mix of state and federal housing subsidies, he said.

Who could buy or rent these new homes? Generally, those who qualify would need to be first-time home buyers with household incomes below area median income levels. For example, a family of four would need to make $63,600 or less, according to Home HeadQuarters.

In some cases, Home HeadQuarters can help secure the new homeowners’ mortgages. Some people may be able to use their federal housing vouchers (often called Section 8) toward their mortgage or rental payments in the new home.

The next step involves finalizing the locations and transferring the first 25 properties to Home HeadQuarters before construction begins.

Eventually, the new homes – both the rentals and the owner-occupied ones – will go back on the property tax rolls. Those who buy one of the new 50 homes may qualify for a city property tax exemption that erases city and school taxes for seven years. Housing Visions pays property taxes on rentals it manages based on utility and lease costs, La Flair said.

Walsh hesitated to say when the first homes would be ready for sale. “We’re working hard up to this point,” the mayor said. “Half the battle is having a solid, compelling strategy to raise money for.”

In the end, 50 new Syracuse homeowners will have move-in-ready houses.

“They’re not going to need a spec of maintenance,” Pasquale said, “except for mowing the lawn.”

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