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$400K state grant to finance 10 affordable "green" homes in Schenectady
The Business Review (Albany)

The New York State Affordable Housing Corporation approved a $400,000 grant to Better Neighborhoods, Inc. of Schenectady, N.Y., to help finance construction of 10 affordable "green" homes in the Vale and Hamilton Hill neighborhoods.

The 10 homes will be Leadership in Environmental Energy and Design (LEED) certified, making each 30 percent more energy efficient than the average home.

The efficiency could be even higher if the homes include solar panels, said Edward August, executive director of BNI.

"We're going for an average of $160 in energy bills each month for each family," August said.

He expects the homes will sell for around $80,000 each. They will be available for purchase to income-eligible households. A family of four must earn less than $63,280 to qualify.

Applicants must be participants of BNI's home buyers education program, which includes three, two-hour classes. BNI is currently accepting applicants, but will not sign any sales contracts until construction is complete on the homes.

Construction is scheduled to start in spring 2009, and take up to two years to finish.

The proposed developer for the project is J. Luk Construction Company, Inc.

The total cost of the project is $2.6 million. Of that, $900,000 will come from the city of Schenectady and $500,000 from the New York State Housing Trust Fund. The Community Preservation Corp. will provide construction financing.

BNI has built three other green houses since its green affordable housing program started. Its most recent green home has the highest level of LEED certification: platinum.

August does not yet know which level of LEED certification the 10 new houses will have.