Staff Mail

Housing & Community Development

Brian Cassini
Director, Housing & Community Development
 

ComLinks’ Housing and Community Development initiatives began in 1994 with a recognition that families made homeless as a result of domestic violence often returned to living in an abusive relationship to keep a roof over their heads simply because there were few housing options available to them. To provide a quality alternative, we developed a safe, supportive housing community that includes on-site case management to help families focus on the life skills necessary for self-reliance.

The success of this supportive housing created a new challenge—once these families were ready to move into a more independent housing environment, the supply of decent and affordable rental housing was chronically low. Our solution was to use the Low-Income Housing Credit program and other state and federal resources to construct high-quality, small-scale, affordable housing developments that foster pride of place in a safe environment. A measure of success—a number of these families have moved on to homeownership.

1. Supportive housing offers families a deeply subsidized rent and on-site case management through the Family Development Model.
    
2. Affordable housing provides residents with a safe, decent and affordable rental housing option—one that enhances, and is of low impact to, the community while fostering pride of place for the families.

Beyond housing, rural North Country communities face unique development challenges. ComLinks helps them to define and develop programs that increase their capacity to eliminate blight and cultivate community pride, attract and retain residents, capitalize on redeveloping architectural and scenic resources for tourism and recreation, and improve local infrastructure—ultimately fostering economic stability and growth.

In the absence of good housing, a family’s ability to do all other things society expects of it—parenting, employment, education—is impaired.

— Senator Jack Reid (D-RI)
Chairman, Senate Housing and Transportation Committee

Affordable Housing Solutions

• 39 units of Supportive Housing in Malone, Tupper Lake, Saranac Lake and Lake Placid
• 24 units of Affordable Housing in Malone and Saranac Lake
• 11 units of Affordable Housing under construction in Lake Placid
• 21 units of Affordable Housing under development in North Creek
• 12 units of Senior Housing under development in Long Lake
  
  

• Housing Projects Information -

Community Development Partnerships

• Implemented a town-wide housing rehabilitation grant (CDBG) for the Town of Malone

• Assisted the Town and Village of Malone to create their Empire Zone

• Partnered with Friends of Lyon Mountain to rehabilitate the historic Lyon Mountain Railroad Station

• Secured funding (ANCCEP) for revitalization of Malone’s Arsenal Green park

• Assisted the Village of Malone to realize its CDBG and housing rehabilitation goals

Franklin County housing stock tends to be older, and one-third, according to the 2000 Survey Report on Housing in Franklin Country, requires at least one major repair.

Coupled with household income resources that reflect the region’s minimum wages, the availability of suitably priced homes for rent or purchase is scarce.