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 Northeastern Dutchess Initiative focuses on the towns of Millerton/Northeast, Amenia, and Pine Plains. We strive to be a strong partner to community and economic development efforts that support sustainable, inclusive and participatory communities in rural northeastern Dutchess County.
Our priorities include:
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.
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
The Initial Application Lottery will take place January 20th at 10am at Poughkeepsie City Hall for applicants who have met the January 10th deadline and initial eligibility requirements. All applicants will be notified in writing that their application has been received and they have been placed into the lottery. Applications will continue to be accepted on a rolling basis following the January 10th deadline and will be placed on a waiting list.
Below is a sample of some of our current and past projects.
