Affordable Housing Construction To Begin Shortly In Larchmont

As the date draws near for the start of construction on affordable housing units in the Village of Larchmont, residents resumed their dialogue with developer Bill Balter in a public forum sponsored by The League of Women Voters of Larchmont-Mamaroneck, the Hispanic Resource Center, Pine Brook Association, The Summit and the Washingtonville Housing Alliance.

Balter preemptively answered some questions residents had posed at a . One question was who their new neighbors were likely to be.

He replied that their new neighbors would likely already have some connection to the community.  Another question raised at a previous meeting was if the units would be constructed to take advantage of “green technologies” already available.

“It might be Energy Star, but we’re not there yet,” replied Balter.

As to how the units will be sized, he stated that the maximum number of people permitted in a unit would be six for a two-bedroom unit with a den.

He went on to say that the units will range in price from an average cost of $160,000 for a one-bedroom to $229,000 for a two-bedroom; additional monthly expenses will include common charges—expected to be within the scope of $250-$350 per month—as well as real estate taxes, which will run between $350-$400 per month, depending on the size of the unit.

The affordable housing will be marketed to “those at or below 80 percent of the Westchester median income,” said Balter, president of Elmsford-based Wilder Balter Partners, the company that is constructing the units, who estimates the parameters to meet the income requirement for housing to be between $59,000-$84,000.

The income requirements, however, don’t extend past the stage of initial qualification.  If a resident’s income increases, they are permitted to remain in their unit without any penalties. 

Five of the 51 units will be designated for people with a connection to Larchmont such as firefighters, ambulance corps workers, school district employees, village employees and seniors 62 and over.  Village of Larchmont residents over 21 and under 30 would also be eligible for housing.

Rose Noonan, executive director of the , a not-for-profit organization that assists low-income households with securing housing, emphasized that efforts to publicize the affordable units will leave no stone unturned, in compliance with guidelines established by the Affirmative Fair Housing Marketing Plan (AFHM). 

“We be marketing broadly throughout Westchester County,” she said, adding that will be made to draw in potential applicants from Fairfield, Putnam, and Rockland counties as well as the five boroughs of New York City. 

The application process for the units will continue through June, at which point a lottery system will generate a preliminary list of people to be qualified for housing, Noonan explained.

All buyers will have to qualify for mortgages, and, she noted, some lenience will be shown toward applicants whose credit ratings are less than stellar.

“Credit scores are not the be all end all,” said Noonan.

The units will also be deed-restricted meaning that resale value will be limited for a 50 year period and will most likely be indexed at a rate averaging between 3-4 percent.

Construction at the location at 2101 Palmer Ave.—the former Collins Brothers Moving site—will begin in the spring, and should be completed by April of 2012.

The affordable housing requirement is part of a brought against the county by the Anti-Discrimination Center (ADC) that accused Westchester of failing to make affordable housing available in local communities after accepting federal housing funds.  As part of the settlement with the ADC, 750 units of fair and affordable housing will go up in 31, predominantly white, Westchester communities over the next seven years.

At the end of the meeting, as attendees prepared to venture out into the steady downpour, Banter provided contact information for himself and James Wendling for those having further questions about the project.

Bill Balter can be reached at bbalter@wilderbalter.com and James Wendling can be reached at jwendling@wilderbalter.com 

For further information on the Fair and Affordable Housing Program, please contact Rose Noonan at the Housing Action Council at (914) 332-4144.