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SCHENECTADY – Schenectady Mayor Gary McCarthy today announced the exciting Home Ownership Made Easy in Schenectady (HOMES) Fair and City Living Tour. Taking place on the Jay Street pedestrian mall on Sunday, June 26th from 10:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m., the Fair gives prospective buyers access to lenders, realtors, grant programs, contractors, and other housing related opportunities.
“Schenectady offers an exciting variety of housing options from single family homes to downtown apartments,” said Mayor Gary McCarthy. “The HOMES Fair and City Living Tour gives residents and prospective home buyers the chance to see some of the great opportunities Schenectady has to offer.”
This year, the HOMES Fair is occurring in conjunction with the Schenectady City Living Tour, a cooperative between the Downtown Schenectady Improvement Corporation (DSIC) and seven new luxury apartment redevelopments to showcase the living opportunities downtown. These residential developments will open their doors for the duration of the HOMES Fair to allow attendees to take a self-guided tour of their facilities. In addition, Schenectady’s Citywide Open House will take place, in which MLS-listed open houses will be conducted throughout the City, providing potential homebuyers a variety of housing options to view.
“The pace of residential development in downtown has been incredible. Our self-guided tour of several new upscale apartments gives people the chance to experience for themselves the quality and convenience of living in today’s downtown,” said Jim Salengo, Executive Director for the Downtown Schenectady Improvement Corporation.
The tour announcement was hosted by Sequence Development at the Foster building. The newly renovated Foster Building, a multi-million dollar historic renovation project, joins Schenectady’s vibrant, rejuvenated downtown and provides another stunning example of Schenectady’s historic roots and recent revitalization. The full project includes over thirty renovated apartments and new retail space, including Capoccia Wine Lounge and the recently announced restaurant, Slidin’ Dirty.
“The Foster building is thrilled to be a part of the City Living Tour this Sunday. We strongly believe that the Downtown Schenectady community is a growing and thriving one; with new people moving here to be a part of the excitement and energy of this city every day. Events like this tour provided a unique opportunity for prospective new tenants to view multiple properties on the same day – a win for tenants and property owners alike,” said Elizabeth Young JoJo, Chief Operating Officer of Sequence Development, the group behind the redevelopment of the Foster Building and a participant in the downtown living tour.
The recent additions to Schenectady’s variety of housing options and the revitalized downtown compliment Schenectady’s neighborhood redevelopment efforts. In the past five years, Schenectady has demolished over a hundred of the worst blighted properties, begun an over $3.5 million investment in park improvements, and supported the renovation of over 280 neighborhood residential properties with almost $6 million in new investment. In 2017, Mohawk Harbor and the new Rivers Casino will add additional housing and retail options for residents and visitors.
“Schenectady’s housing market surged in the beginning of 2016. The market came alive, in what is typically the slowest time of year for home sales. Thanks in part to low mortgage rates, Schenectady saw a 15% rise in sales of single family homes so far in 2016. Mayor McCarthy has been doing a great job in changing the streets from a housing stand point. The city is making great progress in taking the unpaid tax burden properties, selling those parcels, and putting them back on the tax rolls,” said Lisa Joy Rupinski, Associate Broker at Bicentennial Realty.
About HOMES
HOMES started out with 9 partners (Key Bank, Berkshire Hathaway Home Services Blake, the Schenectady City School District, the Gazette, NBT Bank, U. S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Legere Restorations, SRG Architects and Open Stage Media) and continues to bring in additional partners (NBT Bank, Greater Capital District Association of Realtors, CDTA, Prospect Lending, Coldwell Banker, SONYMA, Trustco, The Home Depot, Creating Why Media, Capital District Community Loan Fund, NYSHCR, Schenectady County Habitat for Humanity, Community Land Trust of Schenectady, Better Neighborhoods Inc, Homestead Funding, M&T Bank).
About Downtown Schenectady Improvement Corporation
DSIC a not-for-profit 501c (3) organization that provides supplemental services for the property owners and business located within the boundaries of the Downtown Special Assessment District (DSAD). The DSIC was originally formed in 1977 as a parking maintenance district. In 2001, downtown business leaders worked with the City to expand the functions of the DSIC to provide a broader focus on the revitalization of Downtown Schenectady via cleaning, visual improvements, marketing, and business development. Their mission is to promote Downtown Schenectady as a premier location for commerce, recreation and living by enhancing, facilitating and supporting economic and cultural growth.