A new state housing program designed to remedy the deficit in available, affordable long-term rentals is funding the rehabilitation of upper-floor apartments in two commercial buildings in downtown Ticonderoga, Nicole Justice Green, the executive director of the North Country Rural Development Council, has announced.
The two buildings awarded grants from the new program, titled the New York State Vacant Rental Improvement Program (VRP) – Burleigh’s Luncheonette and the Champ Café / Punky Noodles Children’s Museum – also received Downtown Revitalization Initiative (DRI) Small Project Fund grants, said Green.
Burleigh’s Luncheonette received a DRI Small Project Fund grant to replace its storefront windows and install a permanent walk-in cooler. Champ Café / Punky Noodles will use its award to restore the original, historic façade and replace its windows with energy-efficient versions.
“The Vacant Rental Program (VRP) to renovate upper-story apartments will further advance housing goals and breathe new life into downtown Ticonderoga,” a press release from North Country Rural Development Council stated.
Targeting buildings with one to five vacant units and awarding rehabilitation grants of $50,000 or $75,000 per unit, the state program is administered by non-profit organizations; in Essex, Warren and Washington Counties, that non-profit is the Ticonderoga-based North Country Rural Development Council.
Building owners may apply for a rehabilitation grant of $50,000 per unit, to be rented to a tenant commanding 80% of Area Median Income (AMI), or a $75,000 grant to rehabilitate a unit that could be rented to a tenant with an income of 60% of the AMI.
The owners of Burleigh’s were awarded a $75,000 VRP award to rehabilitate one vacant apartment.
“The Small Project Fund grant would not have covered the costs of that rehabilitation, so the VRP grant was a way to leverage additional funding to maximize the impact of that building,” said Green.
The owner of the Punky Noodles Children’s Museum/ Champs Café was awarded $150,000 to renovate two apartments on the building’s second floor.
That space has been vacant for more than twenty years, said Green.
“The community is very proud to restore that building to a useful life,” said Green. “It is an economically, as well as visually, impactful project.”
A similar project has been approved in Granville, Washington County. Two prospective projects in Warren County are under review.
According to Green, only work on vacant spaces will be funded. Apartments that are occupied currently, but which may be in need of remodeling, are not eligible for the VRP grants.
Upgrades that may be funded by the grants include: bringing a unit up to building codes; environmental remediation; and increasing accessibility through construction that will bring a unit into compliance with regulations promulgated by the Americans with Disability Act.
A unit rehabilitated with a V-RIP grant may be rented after ten years in the state program at the market rate, which is currently upwards of $2,000 per month.
“These programs will be a cornerstone in our strategy to drive economic development and support our local workforce by transforming vacant sites into vibrant spaces. By addressing blight and repurposing underutilized properties, we’re not just enhancing our neighborhoods, we’re laying down the foundations for a more robust and resilient community,” Green stated.
Although a state-wide program, the VRP is especially well suited to the Adirondacks, said Green.
“We have experienced years of economic downturn and disinvestment within our hamlets, and as a consequence, we see blight and vacancies,” said Green. “So a program that incentivizes the rehabilitation of these vacant rental units and gets them back online is welcome.”
Warren County Planner Ethan Gaddy has urged that county’s Supervisors to contact “landlords or property owners who have existing structures that have the potential for infill development to contact the North Country Rural Development Council.
According to Gaddy, the “Housing Needs Study and Market Demand Analysis of Warren County,” which was released in 2023, indicated that affordable, long-term rental units in the up-county towns were scarce, depressing employment and school enrollments.
“There is a lack of rental units in general (in the up-county towns) inside the Blue Line and many employees in these smaller communities (must) commute into them (because of the lack of local housing),” the report stated, adding, “Overall, the vacancy rate for affordable housing units in the market is very low.”
Among that study’s recommendations: “leverage partnerships that will increase local capacity,” said Gaddy, noting that the Planning Department’s work with the North Country Rural Development Council is an example of that type of partnership.
