Serino Working to Expand Housing Opportunities through Housing Trust Fund

 Applications Now Open for Local Developers of All Sizes;
Workshop scheduled on May 5^th for developers to learn more

As part of multi-faceted efforts to expand housing supply in Dutchess County and create more affordable and accessible options for residents, Dutchess County Executive Sue Serino announced the application process for the latest round of funding through the Dutchess County Housing Trust Fund (HTF) is now open, with up to $3 million available to local developers for the creation or preservation of affordable housing, including smaller-scale projects in rural areas. The HTF application is available through Dutchess County’s online grant portal. Application deadline is Monday, June 9.

This round of HTF funding focuses on the program’s Housing Creation and Preservation (HCP) component, which supports affordable rental housing through new construction, rehabilitation, adaptive reuse, property acquisition and preservation of existing units. Application instructions and guidance are available online.

Both private for-profit and non-profit developers are eligible to apply; and small builders are encouraged to apply. The County’s Department of Planning & Development will host a workshop for applicants on Monday, May 5, at the Dutchess County Farm and Home Center, , from 1 to 3 p.m. Applicants can register for the workshop by completing this registration form.

The Dutchess County Housing Trust Fund provides a flexible and nimble funding source to aid the implementation of a variety of affordable housing efforts, with several main goals:

• Providing financial assistance to develop affordable housing across Dutchess County;
• Enhancing the competitiveness of affordable housing initiatives to secure additional funding;
• Supporting housing projects that align with County priorities but have limited or no funding options; and
• Focusing on projects that create housing with deeper affordability levels.

The HCP component supports new affordable rental housing through new construction, rehabilitation of existing homes, and adaptive reuse of non-residential buildings. Eligible projects may be fully affordable or mixed-income, including single-room occupancy rentals. The HCP also funds property acquisition for affordable rental housing by non-profit developers and the preservation or rehabilitation of existing affordable units to ensure long-term affordability.

The affordable units created through the Dutchess County Housing Trust Fund can either target all households with incomes up to 60 percent of the Area Median Income (AMI) for Dutchess County, or a portion (no more than 20 percent of the units) can target households with incomes up to 80 percent AMI.

Additional information about the Dutchess County Housing Trust Fund is available on the Department of Planning & Development’s website.

Dutchess County’s Housing Trust Fund is one of several programs County Government is utilizing to expand housing accessibility.  Other programs include the Community Development Block Grant and HOME Investment Partnership funding programs, as well as the Owner Occupied Property Rehabilitation program. To learn more about these and other housing initiatives, visithttps://www.dutchessny.gov/Departments/Planning/Housing-Department-of-Planning.htm