Our Community Building & Engagement team helps build sustainable, inclusive and participatory communities.
Our team layers multiple strategies to preserve and strengthen neighborhoods.
We empower residents and stakeholders to create communities of opportunity for all. We build leadership skills, promote equitable economic development, and strengthen neighborhood connections.
The Middle Main Initiative is a program of Hudson River Housing working to strengthen and preserve a strong, vibrant, and creative Main Street corridor in the City of Poughkeepsie. This initiative celebrates the many assets of the community and employs dynamic strategies to build upon them.
We employ innovative strategies that:
Small businesses are the foundation of a vibrant Main Street corridor. Through the Made in Middle Main campaign, businesses support the work of the community and in turn are supported and promoted by the community and the Hudson River Housing team.
We are generating a vibrant commercial corridor by developing signage, revitalizing storefronts, attracting entrepreneurs, and engaging the community in neighborhood events and activities.
Safe, clean and attractive public spaces are one of the top concerns of local residents. Hudson River Housing is investing in the neighborhood by organizing beautification projects and rehabilitating vacant properties.
We currently own and manage two public spaces, Murphy Park, located in front of the Poughkeepsie Underwear Factory at 517 Main Street, and Jardin de las Rosas, located on the corner of Rose Street at 535 Main Street. We are working to keep these spaces accessible and serving as assets in our neighborhood.
Poughkeepsie’s greatest asset is its people. Whether residents were born in the Hudson Valley, or landed here from another state or country, the Middle Main Initiative brings them together to form the diverse identity of this neighborhood.
Through strategies including our Community Leadership Program, resident advisory committees, and our Inclusive Communities Working Group, we provide opportunities to join together to shape the future of the city of Poughkeepsie.
Our team works to collect information on neighborhood conditions to guide our strategies, advocate for greater resources, and inform the work of partners and government. Take a look at the results of our most recent survey.
The award-winning redevelopment of the Poughkeepsie Underwear Factory is the anchor project in Hudson River Housing’s work in the Middle Main Street corridor.
This three story, 22,000 square foot historic building has been completely restored as a hub of residential, commercial and community activity.
The building features the PUF Cafe, the Poughkeepsie Open Kitchen shared-use commercial kitchen for food entrepreneurs, Co-Working at the Factory, and other commercial tenants.
The Poughkeepsie Underwear Factory also features fifteen apartments, including eleven affordable units, a community park, and frontage on the Fall Kill Creek.
The PUF Cafe features an assortment of house made and locally sourced baked goods, coffee by local coffee roaster North River Roasters, and a variety of local products.
The PUF Cafe is managed by Earth, Wind & Fuego and offers a fully gluten-free breakfast and lunch menu.
When you patronize the PUF Cafe you support the advancement of our mission through local training, hiring, and community development.
The Poughkeepsie Open Kitchen (P.O.K.) is a shared-use commercial kitchen designed to support and promote small-scale food entrepreneurs in the Hudson Valley.
Our mission is to support the launch and growth of food businesses through commercial kitchen access, business development training, and community connections.
We have 3,000 sq. ft. of commercial grade food prep, cooking, packaging, and storage space that is fully equipped for your use.
The Poughkeepsie Trolley Barn is a community space by and for diverse art practitioners that serves as a community hub for the promotion of the arts in Poughkeepsie. Hudson River Housing is committed to stewarding the Trolley Barn as a place where artists and community members can meaningfully connect with each other and celebrate what makes Poughkeepsie a unique and special place. The Trolley Barn presents a special opportunity to showcase how the arts can make a transformational difference in the lives of youth and adults.
Tri-Town Coalition: Amenia, Millerton & Pine Plains
The Tri-Town Coalition is a collaborative group of Amenia, Millerton, and Pine Plains residents and stakeholders actively working to advance solutions to shared concerns for affordable housing and inclusive economic development in the region.
Our objective is to advocate for and undertake direct action to secure an equitable and sustainable future for the Tri‐Town region that ensures a continuum of affordable housing options exists for all current and future residents.
The Tri-Town Coalition is supported by Hudson River Housing & the Institute for Rural Leadership, in partnership with other local organizations.
Cross-sector teams gather monthly in each town to identify local housing priorities, set action items, and engage in thoughtful discussion. Town Teams are open to anyone that wants to work in support of inclusive housing and economic development.
Quarterly regional gatherings bring together Town Teams and outside stakeholders for progress updates and resource sharing. Gatherings rotate locations throughout the region.
Engage in conversation with expert speakers on topics of interest and importance to the region. Forums focus on themes relevant to affordable housing and economic opportunity.
The Coalition brings together experts in the areas of affordable housing, real estate development, and community development to support the priorities of residents and local government.
The Northside Poughkeepsie Initiative focuses on the City of Poughkeepsie’s 5th Ward, a neighborhood that has seen a disproportionate amount of distress in homes and infrastructure. We know that the success of all neighborhoods benefits the city as a whole – as long as any one area struggles the city as a whole can never thrive.
Together with Rebuilding Together of Dutchess County and Habitat for Humanity of Dutchess County, we have formed the Poughkeepsie Affordable Housing Coalition to advance affordable housing and equitable development. Together, the PAHC is championing strategies to decrease vacant and abandoned properties in the neighborhood, build community wealth, and ensure long-term housing affordability.
Current strategies include:
Hudson River Housing works to increase the supply of affordable housing in the Hudson Valley through new construction, rehabilitation and historic preservation projects. Our housing development work has proved an important part of neighborhood revitalization efforts taking place in the City of Poughkeepsie and throughout the Mid-Hudson Valley.
Through our housing development we have invested over $184 million dollars into the creation of over 1,200 units of housing and 60 commercial spaces.
As a regional organization, our work has a broad impact. However, we have undertaken focused investment in the City of Poughkeepsie throughout our history. This has resulted in the creation of 677 affordable rental units, 37 affordable homeownership opportunities, and over $125,381,491 invested in the City alone.
Crannell Square is the redevelopment of the parking lot at the corner of Catherine and Mill Streets in Poughkeepsie into 75 units of mixed-income housing. Hudson River Housing is co-developing Crannell Square with Kearney Realty & Development Group.
Affordable housing is an extremely urgent need for the city right now, and it has an important role to play in securing the future of our city. As Poughkeepsie sees the pace of development intensifying, projects like Crannell Square ensure that we embed a foundation of long-term affordable housing to safeguard against rampant gentrification. As a non-profit co-developer of this project, it is our mission to ensure that its primary purpose is to provide high-quality, well-designed, healthy, affordable housing for city residents for the life of the project.
Recognizing that the process of real estate development, and particularly the financing, is complex, we offer the following overview about the proposed Payment in Lieu of Taxes (PILOT) agreement for Crannell Square. We welcome any and all questions about this project! Please contact Mary Linge, Director of Real Estate Development, at mlinge@hudsonriverhousing.org or (845) 453-9745.
Crannell Square is primarily funded by tax credits from NYS Homes & Community Renewal and is subject to strict NYS guidelines. For example, the income that the project is allowed to earn is limited to about $29,000 annually, which is very low considering the variables at play when managing a large property.The $29,000 net income takes into account the lower rents being received because of the affordable nature of the project and relies on tax savings, such as a Payment in Lieu of Taxes (PILOT), in order to make the numbers work.
The PILOT agreement proposed for Crannell Square is $100,000 annually, with a 3% annual increase. The tax savings from the PILOT do not result in additional income that is passed on to HRH or Kearney Realty Group, but is used directly to keep rents low. Just as tax dollars can be invested in things like education or public spaces, the PILOT is a choice to invest in affordable housing as one of the necessary components of a thriving city.
The PILOT will guarantee lower rents for 30 years. If a 581-A tax assessment were used as an alternative to the PILOT, the same guarantees are not possible. A 581A is re-evaluated annually, with taxes based on the expenses and “profit” of the project. The expenses allowed in this calculation are discretionary, which puts the project at risk of a significant tax increase, and subsequent rent increases, on an annual basis. A PILOT protects the project from this potential fate and guarantees renters an affordable place to live.
The lot where the Crannell Square project will be located has been widely underutilized by the city for decades. The PILOT is an investment in affordable housing as a necessary component to a thriving city. In addition to the city earning the proposed PILOT, the city will also receive $462,500 for the lot.
Mixed income developments have been proven across the country to be a healthier choice for communities than concentrating low income families in one area. Crannell Square will include 75 apartments, ranging in size from one, two and three-bedroom units. The project does not have commercial space, but is focused solely on filling the gap in housing units in the city. Below is the proposed make-up of residents:
An investment in affordable housing is an investment in a sustainable, diverse, and inclusive future for the City of Poughkeepsie!
78 units of affordable housing located on Rose Street in the City of Poughkeepsie
Two new buildings comprised of 41 studio apartments & 37 one-bedroom apartments
Extensive native landscaping and access to the Fall Kill Creek
On-site parking
Rents starting at $500/mo.
39 apartments reserved for tenants with mental illness
Robust on-site services, including care management and healthcare professionals
Below is a sample of some of our current and past projects.
