RUPCO has blended historic preservation and new construction to create an affordable housing campus with 66 homes for seniors 55 and older in Kingston, New York.
The 14-acre campus includes the historic rehabilitation of the Alms House, which was commissioned by the newly incorporated city in 1874 to house its most disenfranchised and had sat vacant for over a decade after providing many uses over the years. The site also offered the opportunity for the construction of a new four-story building that was designed to complement the existing historic structure. In addition, four outbuildings that were deemed architecturally and historically significant were repurposed.
Landmark Place, which initially was met with NIMBY opposition, marks the first affordable housing development for seniors to be built in Kingston in over two decades, helping to fill a tremendous need in the community.
“It’s a tsunami of aging populations across the country and here in the Northeast, and people are ill-prepared,” says RUPCO CEO Kevin O’Connor. “This is a great opportunity to serve our most vulnerable populations–our seniors and our seniors with special needs.”
The development comprises 32 one-bedroom units and 34 studios as well as a superintendent’s unit. Twelve units are targeted to seniors with incomes at 50% of the area median income (AMI), while 19 serve those at 60% of the AMI. The remaining 35 units are permanent supportive housing targeted to formerly homeless individuals.
The $25.1 million Landmark Place also touts a robust service package for the seniors, including a full-time on-site behavioral health specialist; medication management and training by an on-site licensed practical nurse; transportation services; daily living skills training; health and wellness activities; and socialization activities.
“This is really affordable, stable, service-enriched housing, which almost doesn’t exist at any level,” O’Connor adds.
