Affordable Housing Win in New York: What Estella Housing Means for the Mohawk Valley

Governor Hochul’s $72 Million Investment on Long Island Sets a Standard Upstate New York Needs to Demand

Affordable housing in New York State just got a major boost, and while the ribbon was cut in Hempstead, every resident of the Mohawk Valley should be paying close attention. When a state invests $72 million to turn a vacant bus parking lot into 95 homes for working families, veterans, and people experiencing homelessness, it proves that transformative housing is possible. Now, Central New York needs to ask: when is it our turn?

What Happened: Estella Housing Opens in Hempstead

Governor Kathy Hochul announced the completion of Estella Housing, a $72 million affordable and supportive housing development in the village of Hempstead, Nassau County. The newly constructed five-story building provides 95 affordable apartments, including 42 supportive homes for vulnerable individuals and veterans experiencing homelessness. ny

This is not a small project. This is a full-scale community investment that converts a blighted, inactive property into a living, breathing neighborhood anchor.

Located at the corner of Bedell Street and Main Street, Estella Housing transforms a long-vacant bus parking lot into a vibrant, transit-oriented community within walking distance of the Long Island Rail Road Hempstead Station and the Nassau Inter-County Express bus terminal. ny

Transit access, support services, energy efficiency, and affordability all built into a single development. That is the blueprint. And it works.

Who Gets to Live Here

The development was designed specifically to serve residents who have been pushed to the margins by New York’s housing crisis.

The 95 apartments are affordable to households earning at or below 60 percent of the Area Median Income. The 42 apartments reserved for vulnerable individuals and veterans experiencing homelessness include 30 apartments supported through the New York State Office of Mental Health’s Community Residence Single Room Occupancy program and 12 apartments supported through an Empire State Supportive Housing Initiative award administered by OMH. ny

Residents have access to supportive services provided by Concern for Independent Living, including case management, assistance accessing medical and behavioral health care, employment services, substance use treatment, and other community-based resources. ny

These are not just apartments. They are platforms for stability, recovery, and re-entry into community life.

Eleven apartments are fully accessible and adapted for residents with mobility impairments, while four apartments are equipped for residents with hearing or vision impairments. ny

In a state where accessible housing remains chronically scarce, those numbers matter.

Veterans: Finally Getting What They Were Promised

One of the most important aspects of Estella Housing is its direct commitment to veterans who have experienced homelessness. New York State Department of Veterans’ Services Commissioner Dr. Viviana M. DeCohen said: “Serving All Who Served means recognizing that every Veteran deserves more than gratitude, they deserve stability, dignity, and the opportunity to build a secure future in the communities they call home.” ny

In the Mohawk Valley, veteran homelessness is a quiet crisis. Utica and Rome are home to thousands of veterans, many of whom cycle through shelters, motels, and couch-surfing situations because permanent supportive housing simply does not exist in sufficient numbers. Estella Housing demonstrates that the political will to fix this problem exists at the state level. The question is whether our local leaders are fighting loudly enough to bring that will, and those dollars, to Central New York.

How It Was Funded

Understanding how this project got built matters, because the financing model is replicable.

Financing for Estella Housing includes HCR’s Federal Low-Income Housing Tax Credit Program, which generated $28.7 million in equity and $28.8 million in subsidy. The New York State Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance provided $8.6 million through the Homeless Housing and Assistance Program. Empire State Development provided $1 million recommended by the Long Island Regional Economic Development Council. The Office of Mental Health provided $12 million in capital funding. ny

Federal tax credits. State subsidies. Mental health capital funding. Disability assistance dollars. This is what a functioning, coordinated housing investment looks like. It is not a single grant. It is a stack of funding sources assembled by advocates, developers, and state agencies working in sync.

U.S. Senator Charles Schumer said: “I’m proud that the federal Low-Income Housing Tax Credit, which I worked to protect and expand, has generated more than $28.7 million to help build 96 new, transit-oriented affordable homes in Hempstead.” ny

The Mohawk Valley has its own Regional Economic Development Council and its own advocates in Albany and Washington. The same tools used in Hempstead are available here. What is often missing is the organized, persistent community pressure that makes officials act.

Built Green, Built to Last

Estella Housing is also a model for sustainable construction that Central New York developers and municipalities should study.

Estella Housing is all-electric and designed to exceed Energy Star Multifamily New Construction standards by approximately 25 percent, utilizing energy-efficient features including heat pump technology for heating, cooling and domestic hot water, and native landscaping that reduces water consumption. ny

Lower energy costs for residents living on tight budgets. A smaller carbon footprint. A building that contributes to New York’s clean energy goals while providing affordable housing. These objectives do not have to compete with each other. Estella Housing proves they can work together.

More Than Apartments: Community Space Built In

The development includes more than 5,000 square feet of ground-floor community facility space occupied by Morrison Mentors, a nonprofit organization focused on providing STEM education, mentoring, and workforce development programming. ny

That detail is critical. Too often, affordable housing developments are built as isolated units with no connection to the economic or educational ecosystems that help residents move forward. Estella Housing embeds opportunity directly into the building. Residents do not have to travel far to access job training or mentoring. The building itself becomes a hub.

Residents are provided a range of amenities designed to support resident well-being, including a community room with computers, a fitness center, a courtyard garden, laundry facilities, storage space, and on-site supportive services offices. ny

The Bigger Picture: New York’s Housing Plan

Estella Housing does not exist in isolation. It is part of a much larger statewide effort.

Governor Hochul’s $25 billion five-year Housing Plan is on track to create or preserve 100,000 affordable homes statewide. More than 81,000 affordable homes have been created or preserved to date. Under Governor Hochul’s leadership, New York State Homes and Community Renewal has created or preserved more than 1,600 affordable homes in Nassau County. ny

The enacted FY27 Budget also invests $250 million in capital funding to accelerate the construction of thousands of new affordable homes and further reinforces critical protections for tenants and homeowners. ny

Those numbers represent real families with stable roofs over their heads. But for Utica, Rome, and the broader Mohawk Valley, the urgency cannot be overstated. The region faces its own affordable housing gap, with longtime residents being priced out, refugee and immigrant families struggling to find adequate units, and veterans falling through the cracks. The state’s housing agenda creates the framework. Local leaders, advocates, and community organizations must work aggressively to access those resources.

What the Mohawk Valley Should Do Right Now

The lesson from Estella Housing is not simply that good housing is possible. It is that good housing requires sustained, organized advocacy combined with a willingness to use every available funding mechanism.

Here is what Central New York residents can do:

• Contact your state legislators and demand they champion affordable and supportive housing funding for Oneida and Herkimer counties.
• Engage with the Mohawk Valley Regional Economic Development Council to ensure housing is a priority in future capital investment rounds.
• Support local nonprofits doing housing advocacy work, including organizations that serve veterans, individuals with mental illness, and families experiencing homelessness.
• Stay informed. When state funding opportunities open, community voices are what move applications to the top of the pile.

HCR Commissioner RuthAnne Visnauskas said: “Estella Housing is providing nearly 100 apartments that will give its residents the type of stability that can change lives.” ny

Life-changing stability. That is what every community in New York deserves, not just those on Long Island.

Reporting by David LaGuerre, Utica Phoenix. Source: Office of Governor Kathy Hochul. Additional background from New York State Homes and Community Renewal (HCR).