$42.8 Million Project on West Side to Address Affordable, Workforce Housing in Spa City with 98 New Apartments
Current housing on Allen Drive, facing Church Street on Jan. 9, 2025. Photo by Thomas Dimopoulos.
SARATOGA SPRINGS — A new 98-unit development targeting Allen Drive is anticipated to address the city’s workforce housing shortage.
Beacon Communities and the Saratoga Springs Housing Authority last week announced the start of work on the collaborative project that includes the demolition of six existing but outdated fourplexes on the 3.1-acre site, located Opposite Sunnyside Gardens where Church Street veers into Allen Drive.
The fourplexes will be replaced with six, newly constructed three-story buildings that will include 98 one, two, and three-bedroom units for single adult households and small families with incomes of 50% to 80% the area’s median income (AMI) – the mid-point of income distribution in a single year.
The median household income in Saratoga Springs was $100,485 in 2023, the most recent data available from the U.S. Census Bureau. That 50% to 80% AMI extrapolates to single adult households and small families with incomes of $50,000 to just over $80,000 annually.
Nearly 40 of the 98 units will have a workforce preference, according to a statement from the Boston-based affordable housing developers Beacon Communities LLC.
“The Allen Street development is a crucial step in addressing the housing affordability challenges facing the local community,” state Homes and Community Renewal Commissioner RuthAnne Visnauskas said. “By creating 98 high-quality, affordable units, the Allen Street development will not only provide homes for families and workers but also help to ensure the long-term viability of Saratoga Springs as a place where all New Yorkers, regardless of income, can live, work, and thrive. “
Once complete, the new community will be owned and managed by Springs West Apartments LLC, an affiliate of the Saratoga Springs Housing Authority.
Leasing is expected to begin in spring 2026.
The new development will feature laundry rooms in each building, a community room, gym, playground, and bulk storage spaces. Residents will have access to 92 off-street parking spaces at the rear of the buildings as well as 26 on-street spaces on Allen Drive.
The city’s main economic drivers – tourism and hospitality – rely heavily on a workforce increasingly getting priced out of the market when it comes to housing.
“With the median sales price of a home in Saratoga Springs now exceeding $600,000, our city’s sustainability relies on us building more affordable housing so the people who work here can also live here. We cannot be a ‘city in the country’ just for the rich and wealthy,” added Saratoga County Chamber of Commerce President Todd Shimkus.
The $42.8 million Allen Drive project is being financed with tax exempt bonds issued by NYS Homes & Community Renewal along with an allocation of Federal Low-Income Housing Tax Credits, NYS Low-Income Housing Tax Credits, and state subsidy loans. The tax-exempt bonds are backed by a Letter of Credit from KeyBank, N.A. Both the LIHTC and SLIHC were purchased by Key Community Development Corp.