Our Latest Article on Syracuse.com: "See inside new $18M Syracuse apartments for low-income households."

By Rick Moriarty | rmoriarty@syracuse.com

Syracuse, N.Y. -- A subsidized apartment building for people with low incomes and those with mental health disorders has opened in a Northside neighborhood once plagued by crime.

State and local officials held a ribbon-cutting for Catherine Street Apartments on Wednesday.

Located at 501 Catherine Street, the four-story building contains 50 furnished apartments (40 one-bedroom and 10 two-bedroom units).

Twenty apartments are reserved for households earning at or below 50 percent of the area median income, and 30 apartments are for households earning at or below 60 percent of the area median income.

In addition, 30 of the apartments are reserved for individuals who have mental health disorders but are able to take care of themselves.

Trinity Woodall, program supervisor at the building, said residents pay a maximum of 30 percent of their monthly income for rent. On average, residents pay a little more than $200 a month, she said.

Noting that many recent apartment projects in the city have featured high-end housing in the downtown area, Mayor Ben Walsh praised the Catherine Street project for providing affordable housing to residents.

“We need to make sure we’re investing in projects that benefit everyone in our community, regardless of ability, of income levels or anything else that may differentiate them."

Walsh also praised the improvement the project is making to the neighborhood.

“This was desperately needed,” he said. “I remember seeing open-air drug dealing. There were a lot of issues. To have this brand new, beautiful building anchoring this block and this neighborhood is really a significant step forward.”

The new building replaces two run-down apartment buildings that were demolished for the project. F. Scott Fitzgerald, author of “The Great Gatsby,” briefly lived in one of the buildings as a young boy, but the connection was not historically significant enough to save the structure.

Construction was finished in the fall, and all but one of the units are occupied, Woodall said.

State financing for the $17.6 million project included $8.6 million in permanent tax-exempt bonds, federal Low-Income Housing Tax Credits that generated $5.7 million in equity and an additional $2.7 million in subsidy from New York State Homes and Community Renewal.

The New York State Office of Mental Health provided $8.5 million in capital funding and will also will provide funding for onsite supportive services. The project was developed by CSD Housing in partnership with Central New York Services Inc. and is being managed by Christopher Community Inc.

Rick Moriarty covers business news and consumer issues. Contact him anytime: Email | Twitter | Facebook | 315-470-3148