Liberty Saratoga Apartments Gets City Support for Development of 200-Apartment Workforce Housing Complex
SARATOGA SPRINGS —The City Council last week announced its support for the development of a 200-plus apartment complex on the city’s south side geared to attracting local teachers, young professionals, nurses, hospitality industry workers and firefighters and police.
The complex’s one-bedroom apartments are anticipated to range from $995 to $1,200 a month, while maximum rents in two-bedroom units could range from $1,200 to $1,650. The current rental average in Saratoga Springs for a two-bedroom unit is $2,245.
Last year, Liberty Affordable Housing Inc., of Rome, N.Y., submitted its application to the city for a zoning map amendment in its effort to develop approximately 200 apartments in two, four-story structures on a portion of a wooded 30-acre lot on the corner of Jefferson Street and Crescent Avenue.
Last week, Saratoga Springs Accounts Commissioner Dillon Moran announced that amendments to the city’s zoning and comprehensive plan had been granted by the Saratoga Springs City Council.
“The development of this project offers a significant boost to the number of apartments at a time which there are few options available. Healthcare and hospitality are core to the economy of Saratoga Springs, and the workforce should be able to live within the community that they work,” said Moran, in a statement.
The workforce housing community caps rents at a percentage of the region’s Average Median family Income, or AMI. The median family income in the Capital District region is $106,000. The project targets 60-80% of the AMI. To qualify to apply for an apartment at Liberty Saratoga the tenant/household verified income would range from just over $44,500 to nearly $85,000, and points to $900- $1,120 costs for a studio, $995-$1,200 for one-bedroom, and $1,200-$1,650 for two-bedroom apartments.
The property will be owned and managed by Liberty Affordable Housing Inc., and Liberty Saratoga Apartments are slated to be designed by local firm Phinney Design Group. The two four-story buildings will include conservation of almost 20 acres of land including 9 acres of wetlands that create a natural buffer to other residential neighbors.
The development is supported by NYS funding which requires compliance with green building programs such as EPA Energy Smart, NYSERDA’s New Construction Housing Program, NYS HCR Mandatory Green Building & Energy Efficiency Practices, and the 2020 Enterprise Green Communities Criteria.