The Schenectady Municipal Housing Authority (“SMHA”), together with developer partners Pennrose, LLC and Duvernay + Brooks, LLC have embarked on a revitalization of Yates Village, an aging 296-unit public housing development located in the Goose Hill/Northside neighborhood of the City of Schenectady. Configured as a multiphase, multi-year effort to redevelop a community that serves as a gateway to Schenectady’s downtown, the transformation of Yates Village and rebranding to Northside Village promises to deliver significant community impact that, alongside the tremendous renewal projects under development downtown and on the waterfront, will contribute to the on-going revitalization of the City, and retain Northside Village as a vital affordable housing resource for generations to come. Robust community engagement activities, events and meetings ensured resident input and collaboration was integral to defining the needs of the existing and future residents and was incorporated into the programing and design.

Northside Village Phase I, the first phase of a site-wide transformation project, provides a holistic transformation to the “face” of the development by demolishing the longstanding walls existing between the Yates site and its neighbors, and in its place providing new, income diverse housing and community facilities. The development’s hybrid scope of substantial rehabilitation and new construction fully leverages scarce financial resources to replace and increase the existing unit count from seventy-one units to eighty-nine high-quality rental residences available for general occupancy.

Tailored to meet the diverse needs of existing Village residents as well as the broader neighborhood, seventy-four 17 units were reserved for households with incomes up to 60% of the Area Median Income (“AMI”), and eighteen (18)units were reserved for households with incomes up to 50% AMI. The affordability and subsidy benchmarks will be maintained throughout the enforcement of its regulatory agreement.

Northside Village Phase 1 offered unit types ranging from one- to three-bedroom units in townhouse and garden apartments and is now fully occupied. This combination of unit types and range of affordability ensured housing opportunities are made available to fit the needs of existing residents as well as affordable housing needs in the community. The development includes a combination of sixty-four newly constructed and twenty-five substantially renovated residences comprising a total of eighty-nine rental apartment units available for general occupancy, including large-households, special needs households, and households who have members with mobility, hearing and/or vision impairments.

Northside Village Phase II is comprised of 211 residences amongst 37 buildings assembled withing six blocks grouping buildings within a new street grid. Of which two blocks are completed and in process of leasing and the remainder of the blocks currently under construction are anticipated to be completed Fall of 2023. All units (100%) within Northside Village phase 2 are project-based vouchers, serving many residents who formerly occupied the demolished buildings.

All residents have access to the newly constructed, approximately 12,000 square foot community facility. The fully outfitted building houses three non-profit service providers who have long provided Yates Village and Goose Hill residents with a broad range of social services.