Urban Pioneering in the Hudson Valley
NEWBURGH, September 22, 2014 – The creation of desirable living and working spaces in urban areas where vacancies and blight were the norm is a trend taking hold in pockets of the nation. The annual housing report released today by Hudson Valley Pattern for Progress highlights a shift toward the movement in the Hudson Valley.
“Urban Pioneering in the Hudson Valley” discusses the trend, details three relevant case studies in Poughkeepsie, Middletown and Kingston and provides recommendations and policy-based tools for revitalization of urban centers and Main Streets, including reasons to rethink parking requirements that can have unintended consequences.
The release of the report precedes the Annual Housing Summit, to be held from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m., Sept. 29, at Anthony’s Pier 9, New Windsor. Hard copies of the report will be distributed that day. New York State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman and Federal Home Loan Bank of New York President Jose R. Gonzalez will address the summit as will developers of factories repurposed as housing in the downtowns of Poughkeepsie, Middletown and Kingston.
The report incorporates the Annual Housing Report compiled by Pattern and its Center for Housing Solutions. In this analysis, Pattern Vice President Joe Czajka provides data and discussion related to:
• the high cost burden of housing as it pertains to the Hudson Valley
• the increasingly elusive nature of affordable housing in the region
• a snapshot of the region’s real estate market
“This report on urban pioneering underscores the importance of bringing our urban centers and downtowns back their once-vibrant levels,” said Pattern Vice President Joe Czajka, author of the report. “Making way through policy and regulatory changes for this sort of activity is vital to the well-being of the Hudson Valley,” he said.
