Workforce Housing

‍LCLGRPB is addressing the need for more workforce housing in the north country through multiple initiatives

‍The initiatives highlighted below are largely driven by Building Balanced Communities for the North Country, a regional housing study and action plan focused on understanding local housing needs and finding practical solutions. Through data analysis and community conversations, the project identifies key challenges, measures housing demand, and outlines ten transformative initiatives to help communities meet housing needs in collaborative and creative ways.

At a high level, the study quantifies what many people in the region are feeling:

Incomes have not risen as quickly as prices;
There is limited land available for development;
Housing of all types is needed, but particularly workforce housing - housing that is affordable to people who work here.

There are no easy answers to these challenges, but the region is rich with longstanding organizations and partnerships working on this issue. The LCLGRPB is playing a central role, and we are off to a great start:

Accelerate Workforce Housing in the North Country Initiative (AWHNC)

A three-tiered program that provides:

1. Technical assistance to communities with the goal of supporting communities' efforts to provide more housing;

2. Making funds available for "pre-development" activities such as infrastructure assessments, community engagement, and market studies;

3. Housing development in partnership with communities and both for-and non-profit developers.

See below for additional details and a flyer detailing more about this initiative. Review the Governor's press release announcing the launch of the initiative.

AWHNC supports the comprehensive plan's "Initiative #5 - Work Local, Live Local." This initiative works to ensure that workers have access to quality housing near their jobs, including reserving a share of new and existing homes for local workers as a pathway to homeownership.

Workforce Housing Revolving Loan Fund

‍Supports the comprehensive plan's "Initiative #7 - Rebalance the region's housing by creating more long-term rentals." The revolving loan fund lends capital to developers seeeking to build or rehab homes that will remain available as long-term rentals in perpetuity.

See below for additional details and a flyer containing more information about this initiative.

Targeted Pre-Development Work in Essex & Hamilton Counties

Working in collaboration with Adirondack Roots, and funded by the New York DEC Smart Growth program, this project works with multiple communities on a variety of pre-development tasks such as site evaluation & assessment, zoning analysis, and environmental analysis. Collectively this work will identify potential parcels for development, and fund foundational work in anticipation of construction.

Buildout Analysis & Predevelopment Work in Four Essex County Communities

An analysis of areas for potential development in the communities of Schroon Lake, Minerva, Newcomb and North Hudson. The project includes outreach to residents in these communities as well as Town leadership.

North Country Housing Initiative & Modular Home Marketing

Two Federally funded projects set to come online in 2027 will focus on making additional funding available for workforce housing, and on developing a comprehensive plan for a modular housing facility within the Blue Line in partnership with Paul Smith's college.

Read more about the North Country Housing Initiative here.

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Accelerate Workforce Housing in the North Country Initiative

LCLGRPB works with regional partners through the Accelerate Workforce Housing in the North Country Initiative, a multi-tiered program designed to advance workforce housing development across the region.

1. Community Technical Assistance

LCLGRPB provides hands-on support to communities, including outreach, zoning analysis and updates, Pro-Housing Certification assistance, and identification of sites suitable for housing development. This work helps create a consistent pipeline of housing projects in active communities.

Communities within the Adirondack Park interested in NYS Pro-Housing Certification should contact us at info@lclgrpb.org.

2. Property Pre-Development

LCLGRPB and its partners fund pre-development activities on publicly and privately owned properties. This includes zoning and infrastructure assessments, utility availability analysis, site history research, market studies to determine appropriate housing types and scale, and robust community engagement. These efforts result in opportunity site concepts and marketing materials to advance development.

Explore current efforts through our Interactive Map.

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Workforce Housing Revolving Loan Fund

The LCLGRPB Workforce Housing Revolving Loan Fund supports the creation of attainable, high-quality long-term rental housing for the region's year-round workforce by offering low-interest financing for new rental units.

Eligible projects must be located in Clinton, Essex, Hamilton, Warren or Washington Counties and in communities with populations under 10,000.

Financing is available to undercapitalized, for-profit borrowers seeking to purchase and renovate independently owned long-term rental properties when conventional credit is not otherwise available. Funds may be used for new construction, or the purchase and renovation of currently unoccupied properties and must result in new, ready-to-rent long-term rental units.

For More Information:‍

Management Plan

Loan Application

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What's Next?

Collectively, the projects highlighted above span technical assistance, funding for everything from pre-development work to construction, and public outreach. There are numerous new projects in the works, so check back often for updates.

If you are working on housing in the region and want to get in touch, or know of an initiative that we haven't listed here, please let us know - reach out anytime at info@lclgrpb.org and include "housing" in the subject line.