New York State Homes and Community Renewal Announces Start of $6....

New York State Homes and Community Renewal (HCR) Commissioner RuthAnne Visnauskas today announced the start of Settlers Crossing Second Avenue Homeownership, an affordable homeownership project in the city of Amsterdam, Montgomery County. The $6.5 million project will include 16 single-family, factory-built modular homes on a vacant site located at Second Avenue. Under Governor Kathy Hochul's leadership, HCR has financed more than 2,000 affordable homes in the Mohawk Valley, including nearly 150 affordable homeownership opportunities. Settlers Crossing continues this effort and complements the Governor's $25 billion five-year Housing Plan which is on track to create or preserve 100,000 affordable homes statewide.

New York State Homes and Community Renewal Commissioner RuthAnne Visnauskas said, "By investing in quality starter homes, we can offer families an affordable path to homeownership that builds stability and strengthens communities. With the Governor's commitment to create affordable homeownership opportunities, we are making New York a place where people want to live for generations to come. We thank the city of Amsterdam and each of our local partners who are making the dream of homeownership a reality for 16 families."

Homes at Settlers Crossing will be affordable to homebuyers earning up to 80 percent of the Area Median Income. Better Community Neighborhood Inc. will verify that buyers meet the program's income eligibility requirements, ensuring they complete HUD-approved first-time homebuyer education and counseling, and helping them achieve mortgage readiness.

The project, developed by Urban Redevelopment Group, will include eight three-bedroom ranch-style homes and eight four-bedroom cape-style homes on a 2.5 acre parcel on Second Avenue. Harnessing the benefits of pre-fabricated building, the modular, factory-built homes will be locally manufactured off-site by Bill Lakes Homes and be delivered to the project site within less than a year. This manufacturing process helps increase efficiency and reduce the carbon impact of construction. To further advance sustainability, the homes will be all-electric, include ENERGY STAR® appliances, and be built to meet ENERGY STAR® certification standards - delivering long-term energy efficiency and cost savings for homeowners.

The project is supported with $3.2 million from HCR's Affordable Homeownership Opportunity Program, which provides financing to affordable housing developers to create affordable single-family houses, condos, and co-ops. Additional support includes $2.5 million in construction financing from the Community Preservation Corporation, and $712,000 from Empire State Development through the County Infrastructure Grant Program.

The Affordable Homeownership Opportunity Program complements HCR's work to advance affordable homeownership, including MOVE-IN NY, Manufactured Home Advantage Program, and its State of New York Mortgage Agency's suite of homebuyer mortgage programs.

Urban Redevelopment Group Principal Fred Darguste said, "This project is about more than building homes-it's about building futures. Settlers Crossing will give 16 families the opportunity to achieve homeownership, laying the foundation for generational wealth and proving that quality housing can still be attainable with the right vision and commitment."

Community Preservation Corporation Vice President and Manager of Community Impact, ACCESS Wilhelmena Norman-Hernandez said, "Urban Redevelopment Group's work in Amsterdam is a powerful example of what is possible when we invest in developers who are deeply connected to the communities they are building in. As someone from this community, he brings both lived experience and commitment to this project. Through ACCESS, we aim to provide the training, mentorship, and capital needed to help developers like Fred turn that vision into high-quality, affordable homeownership opportunities. Thank you to New York State Homes and Community Renewal, Empire State Development, and all our local and state partners for their collaboration on this community-focused project."

Better Community Neighborhoods, Inc. CEO Matthew Nelson said, "Affordable homeownership doesn't happen on its own - it takes the right partners, the right resources, and the right guidance. At BCNI, we're driven by a simple mission: to build and support resilient neighborhoods where residents of all backgrounds can flourish. We believe every family deserves a fair shot at owning a home, and Settlers Crossing gives us a real opportunity to put that belief into action in Montgomery County and the City of Amsterdam. We're proud to be a part of this important project and to work directly with prospective buyers to verify income eligibility, complete HUD-approved homebuyer education, and walk with them every step of the way to the closing table."

Empire State Development President, CEO and Commissioner Hope Knight said, "Growing housing throughout New York State continues to be a priority for Governor Hochul. Through the County Infrastructure Grant Program, funding awarded to Montgomery County will support the necessary site upgrades and improvements that will clear the way for Settlers Crossing and these 16 new affordable homes in Amsterdam."

State Senator Pat Fahy said, "Modular homes represent the new frontier in our fight to address the housing crisis in Upstate New York, lower prices, and inject new, affordable options into the market. As families weather the worst affordability crisis since the 2008 Great Recession, it's critical that we use every tool in our toolbox to deliver relief to Capital Region homeowners and aspiring homeowners. Modular homes take almost half the time build compared to regular single-family properties and are often significantly cheaper to both build and purchase. I'm grateful for the creative minds at the Urban Redevelopment Group, Governor Kathy Hochul, and the Community Preservation Corporation plus ESD for making this happen. Amsterdam is becoming a powerful example of how we can combat the housing crisis with innovation that benefits homeowners."

Assemblymember Angelo Santabarbara said, "This project transforms underused land into new homes for families in our area. I've worked to support and secure the kind of state investment that makes projects like this possible, because I have seen how homeownership creates stability, builds equity, and gives people a real stake in where they live. It's not just about adding housing-it's about expanding opportunity in a way that lasts. This is the kind of investment that moves communities like Amsterdam forward and delivers real results."

Amsterdam Mayor Michael Cinquanti said, "Working families built our city and today, their skills, their work ethic and their community engagement continue to serve as the foundation of Amsterdam's quality of life. If we want to keep the working families, we have living here and if we want to attract new ones, we need to increase our city's inventory of new and affordable single-family homes. Settlers Crossing will help us do just that."

Governor Hochul's Housing Agenda

Governor Kathy Hochul is dedicated to addressing New York's housing crisis and making the State more affordable and livable for all New Yorkers. Since FY23, the Governor has worked to increase housing supply to make housing more affordable by launching a $25 billion five-year comprehensive Housing Plan, enacted the most significant housing deal in decades and implemented new protections for renters and homeowners. Under Governor Hochul's leadership, HCR has created new programs that jumpstart development of affordable and mixed-income homes - for both renters and homebuyers. These include the Pro-Housing Community Program, which allows certified localities exclusive access to up to $750 million in discretionary State funding. More than 400 communities throughout the state have been certified Pro-Housing, including the City of Amsterdam.

As part of Governor Hochul's 2026 State of the State, the Governor proposed her "Let Them Build" agenda, a series of landmark reforms to speed up housing and infrastructure development and lower costs. This initiative will spur a series of common-sense reforms to New York's State Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQRA) and executive actions to expedite critical categories of projects that have been consistently found to not have significant environmental impacts, but for too long have been caught up in red tape and subject to lengthy delays.

The FY27 Executive Budget completes the Governor's current five-year Housing Plan to create or preserve 100,000 affordable homes statewide, including 10,000 with support services for vulnerable populations plus the electrification of an additional 50,000 homes. More than 81,000 affordable homes have been created or preserved to date. The Executive Budget also invests $250 million in capital funding to accelerate the construction of thousands of new affordable homes.