Utica, NY - Mayor Edward A. Hanna

Affordable Housing Options

Through a comprehensive citizen participation process, the City of Utica has identified the provision of decent housing for citizens as the first goal of its CDBG program. The City is providing CDBG, HOME and other federal funds to four designated community housing development organizations for a variety of housing initiatives:

• •Utica Neighborhood Housing Services (UNHS) operates a revolving loan fund to finance the rehabilitation of owner-occupied housing in the City. With support from the City, UNHS also has maintained the Saving Utica's Neighborhoods (SUN) Program. SUN seeks to stabilize the existing housing stock by rehabilitating recently-abandoned homes through early intervention and then selling them to income-eligible first-time home buyers. It also is using a grant from the New York State Affordable Housing Corporation to construct 10 new single-family homes in a particular neighborhood; seven of these already have been completed and sold to first-time home buyers.
• •Utica Community Action, Inc. (UCAI) has used HOME funds to expand affordable housing options for very-low-income individuals and persons with disabilities in a single room occupancy setting. UCAI recently completed the substantial rehabilitation of a three-unit and a four-unit building and the new construction of two 15-unit buildings which will house persons with disabilities. UCAI also is providing job development and life skills training to these residents.
• •GroWest, Inc. recently received CDBG funds from the City of Utica as well as financial support from the New York State Affordable Housing Corporation to establish an owner-occupied housing rehabilitation program in the West Utica area.
• •Genesee Oneida Housing Opportunities (GOHO) is currently developing 21 units of new and recycled housing through the Mayfield I project in the Genesee/Oneida Street neighborhood where there are a large number of deteriorated, dilapidated, vacant and fire-damaged structures which undermine the area's housing potential. The effort is intended to help preserve an architecturally attractive neighborhood with the highest and best use for these sites, and to simulate future redevelopment efforts. GOHO will maintain ownership of these properties for a minimum of 15 years, after which the buildings will be sold, creating homeownership opportunities.

Contact: Thomas Larrabee, Commissioner, Urban and Economic Development, (315) 792-0181

Code Enforcement

The United States Conference of Mayors

J. Thomas Cochran, Executive Director
1620 Eye Street, NW, Washington, DC 20006
Telephone (202) 293-7330, FAX (202) 293-2352

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