By Andrea Harwood<\/p>\n
Habitat for Humanity of Northern Saratoga, Warren & Washington Counties is working hard to expand the traditional one- and two-family homes\u00a0 <\/span>model they\u2019ve been utilizing for years.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Its new project is called Fairfield, a 25-unit, mixed-income development project intended to do that.<\/p>\n The property is located on Baybridge, off of Bay Road near SUNY Adirondack in Queensbury, at Fairfield Properties.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cHabitat for Humanity is thrilled to start moving beyond our standard operating model of single family residences. We want to support as many humans as possible. To do that, we need to think beyond one or two homes a year,\u201d said executive director Adam Feldman.<\/p>\n The condo project is intended to create more home-buying opportunities to more low- to moderate-income families in the area. Standard condominium models of separate ownership of individual units and joint ownership of common areas, such as stairways and yard spaces ,will be followed. Owners receive a deed in the same fashion as purchasing a single-family property.<\/p>\n This is not the first time a Habitat for Humanity affiliate has executed a project like this. Habitat for Humanity Sarasota in Florida successfully created a 72-unit mixed-income condominium development intended for home ownership in 2002.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The development of the Fairfield property will create owner-occupied units between $175,000 and $350,000, all varying in floor plan and square footage. Roughly 30 percent of the units will be sold to low- to moderate-income Habitat for Humanity partner families.<\/p>\n The mixed-income housing model is specifically designed to create a living environment of diversity and inclusion. Studies reveal that the model raises the standard of living for all inhabitants of the community, said Feldman.<\/p>\n <\/span><\/span>Instead of utilizing primarily volunteers to build this particular condominium project, the Fairfield development will utilize professional contractors for the sake of time, funds and skill set. Volunteers will still have ample opportunity to give of their time at other build sites.<\/p>\n Habitat for Humanity of Northern Saratoga, Warren & Washington Counties has a goal to utilize the economy of scale in its approach to home ownership. The 25-unit condominium project will be a quicker, more efficient and more affordable per unit approach than building one single family home at a time, Feldman said.<\/p>\n The influencing factor to changing the traditional approach is the current affordable housing crisis, said Feldman. It is becoming increasingly difficult to find starter homes in the area, which makes it difficult for the workforce population to find affordable housing in proximity to their place of employment.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n In turn, the availability of workers in places such as cafes, eating establishments and healthcare facilities is decreased, said Feldman. Places of business are forced to decrease their hours of operation, which impacts the business, the workers and the community, said Feldman.<\/p>\n \u201cThe workforce is exiting our community because there is nowhere for them to live where they can afford and COVID only made things worse,\u201d said Feldman.<\/p>\n \u201cHabitat has been pondering away for the past three or four years on how to support as many people as possible in our community,\u201d said Feldman. \u201cWe took ideas of scale from the for-profit market and applied them to the non-profit market to support the workforce in our community.\u201d<\/p>\n Habitat for Humanity is also partnering with the WAIT House, the local homeless youth shelter serving homeless individuals up to age 24 years old. The partnership will result in providing transitional rental housing to young families exiting the WAIT House and working toward getting on their feet. The collaboration will allow both nonprofits to serve multiple families at a time and utilize the economy of scale to human services.<\/p>\n Habitat for Humanity wants to build additional mixed-income condominium projects similar to the Fairfield property in the Northern Saratoga, Warren and Washington counties area. It is looking for additional building and development partners and municipalities who are interested in building condominium developments. Minimum density for collaboration would be -12 units, with no maximum to speak of.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Builders, contractors and other interested partners should contact Feldman at executivedirector@glensfallshabitat.org.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" By Andrea Harwood Habitat for Humanity of Northern Saratoga, Warren & Washington Counties is working hard to expand the traditional one- and two-family homes\u00a0 model they\u2019ve been utilizing for years.\u00a0 Its new project is called Fairfield, a 25-unit, mixed-income development project intended to do that. The property is located on Baybridge, off of Bay Road […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":89,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[38],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\r\n