Hochul Marks $136M Upgrade of Evergreen East Affordable Housing

The 508-unit Fairport community received a sweeping renovation that preserves affordable housing, rebuilds fire-damaged homes and improves accessibility.

A major Evergreen East affordable housing project in Monroe County is complete after a $136 million renovation that modernized 508 apartments while keeping the entire community affordable. The development, formerly known as the Pines of Perinton, includes upgraded homes, new accessibility features, energy improvements and 19 apartments rebuilt after a devastating 2022 fire.

Gov. Kathy Hochul announced the project’s completion Thursday, Aug. 20, calling the investment part of New York’s broader effort to preserve existing affordable housing while expanding the state’s housing supply.

“Preserving the affordable homes we already have is just as important as building new ones,” Hochul said.

The project is important not simply because of its size. Evergreen East represents an increasingly important part of the housing debate in New York: keeping older affordable developments livable and affordable rather than allowing them to deteriorate or disappear from the housing market.

What Changed at Evergreen East?

Evergreen East is a 43-acre residential community in the village of Fairport, within the town of Perinton. Developer WinnDevelopment carried out a three-year rehabilitation of the property.

According to New York State, the project included:

• Gut renovations of 489 existing apartments
• Reconstruction of 19 apartments destroyed by fire
• New kitchens, bathrooms and flooring
• New plumbing and electrical systems
• New heating and cooling equipment
• Replacement of roughly 2,140 windows
• Nearly 1,090 new entry doors
• Approximately two miles of roofing
• Road and sidewalk improvements
• New exterior lighting and landscaping
• Renovated outdoor spaces
• A modernized community building

The development contains a broad mix of apartment sizes: 36 studios, 206 one-bedroom units, 150 two-bedroom units, 90 three-bedroom units and 26 four-bedroom apartments.

That range matters because affordable housing needs extend well beyond individuals living alone. Larger units can accommodate families who often struggle to find reasonably priced apartments with enough bedrooms.

Affordable Housing Preserved for at Least 40 Years

One of the most significant elements of the Evergreen East affordable housing project is what happens to rents in the future.

All 508 apartments are reserved for households earning no more than 80% of the local Area Median Income. The apartments are now designated as Low-Income Housing Tax Credit units, preserving affordability for at least another 40 years, according to the governor’s office.

That gives the project a longer-term impact than a standard property renovation.

It also addresses a difficult side of the housing shortage. Building new apartments receives much of the public attention, but losing affordable units from aging developments can erase some of those gains.

Hochul said the project “protects more than 500 affordable homes for the long term” while bringing residents safer and more energy-efficient housing.

Accessibility Added to a 50-Year-Old Community

The renovation also addressed accessibility.

Twenty-six apartments were converted into fully accessible homes for residents with disabilities. State officials said they are the first ADA-accessible apartments created at the property during its more than 50-year history.

Accessibility improvements are particularly significant as New York’s population ages and the demand grows for housing that can accommodate residents with mobility challenges.

The improvements mean some residents can remain within the same community rather than searching elsewhere for apartments equipped to meet their needs.

19 Homes Rebuilt After Devastating 2022 Fire

The Evergreen East renovation also closes an important chapter following a major fire at the complex.

A three-alarm fire tore through the Pines of Perinton in January 2022. Contemporary reporting from WXXI and local officials confirmed that roughly 65 residents were displaced. No deaths or injuries were reported.

Nineteen apartments destroyed in the fire have now been rebuilt.

The replacement homes were designed with high-performance, lower-carbon building systems and improved energy efficiency while maintaining the architectural character of the original development.

For residents who remember the fire and its aftermath, completion of those apartments carries meaning beyond the construction itself. It represents the restoration of homes that were lost in a matter of hours.

Historic Housing With an Unusual Legacy

Evergreen East also has a history that sets it apart from many affordable apartment developments.

Originally constructed in the 1970s by the New York State Urban Development Corporation, the Pines of Perinton was designed by the noted modernist architecture firm Gwathmey Siegel and Associates.

Federal records confirm that the Pines of Perinton Apartments were officially added to the National Register of Historic Places on Jan. 24, 2023.

New York preservation officials have described the development as an important example of the state’s effort during the 1960s and 1970s to establish affordable housing in suburban communities.

The renovation therefore had two goals that could potentially conflict: modernize aging housing while preserving a historically significant architectural design.

Project officials say the development was rehabilitated with both in mind.

Community Services Are Part of the Investment

Housing stability involves more than replacing windows and plumbing.

Residents now have access to a renovated 2,200-square-foot community building designed for events and programs including:

• Youth education
• Adult learning
• Workforce development
• Community programs and resident services

A full-time community coordinator is also based at the development, according to the state.

WinnCompanies CEO Gilbert Winn described Evergreen East as the largest occupied rehabilitation project his company has completed.

Keeping people in place during a renovation of this scale can be difficult. State officials said residents were moved temporarily into vacant apartments elsewhere on the property when necessary and that no households were permanently displaced by construction.

How the $136 Million Project Was Financed

The Evergreen East affordable housing redevelopment relied on several public and private financing sources rather than a single $136 million state appropriation.

According to the governor’s office, financing included:

• Federal and state Low-Income Housing Tax Credits expected to generate more than $46 million in equity
• $35 million in New York State Homes and Community Renewal subsidy
• An estimated $14 million in federal historic tax credits
• Approximately $5 million in state historic tax credits
• $600,000 in energy-related funding from NYSERDA and Fairport Electric
• $300,000 in federal HOME funding provided through Monroe County

The financing structure illustrates how large affordable housing projects are often assembled from several government programs, tax incentives and private investments.

How Evergreen East Fits Into New York’s Housing Strategy

The Hochul administration places Evergreen East within its broader statewide housing program.

New York’s five-year, $25 billion housing plan calls for creating or preserving 100,000 affordable homes, including 10,000 homes with supportive services for vulnerable residents.

The administration reported that more than 87,000 affordable homes had been created or preserved toward that goal as of Aug. 20.

In Monroe County alone, New York State Homes and Community Renewal has invested nearly $850 million to finance more than 6,500 affordable homes, according to the state.

Those figures are administration statistics and should be understood as the state’s accounting of projects financed through its housing programs.

The Larger Debate Over Affordable Housing

Supporters of projects such as Evergreen East argue that government investment is needed because affordable developments can be difficult to finance through market rents alone. Preserving older properties can also prevent hundreds of apartments from being lost while communities wait years for replacement housing to be built.

Critics of New York’s broader housing policy have argued that government subsidies alone cannot solve the state’s shortage. They have pushed for faster approvals, fewer development restrictions and substantially more privately financed construction.

Those approaches do not necessarily have to compete.

New York faces both a shortage of new homes and the challenge of maintaining older affordable housing that already exists. Evergreen East addresses the second problem while protecting 508 apartments that might otherwise require increasingly expensive repairs as they age.

What Evergreen East Means for Residents

The most important measure of the project will ultimately be less about the ribbon cutting and more about what happens in the years ahead.

Residents now have renovated apartments, more accessible homes, updated infrastructure, improved energy systems and a long-term affordability commitment.

For the families who were displaced by the 2022 fire, 19 lost apartments have also returned.

And for Monroe County, the community remains a sizable source of affordable housing in a suburban area where such developments are relatively uncommon.

Evergreen East shows why preserving existing affordable housing can be as important as announcing new construction.

As New York continues searching for solutions to its housing shortage, residents should follow not only how many units government officials promise to build, but also how many existing affordable homes are preserved, how long affordability protections last and whether those investments produce safer, healthier communities.

Source note: Reporting is based on information verified through the New York Governor’s Office, New York State housing records, the National Park Service, Town of Perinton records and contemporaneous WXXI reporting on the 2022 fire.