Historic Albany Building Begins Conversion Into Affordable Housing
The century-old property has been vacant since 2021.
MLB Construction Services has started the redevelopment of the Selfridge & Langford Building, a historic warehouse located at 97 Central Ave. in Albany, N.Y. The $18 million project involves the transformation of the four-story property into a 49-unit affordable housing community with ground-floor commercial space.
The new community will include studio, one-, and two-bedroom apartments reserved for residents earning up to 80 percent of the area median income. Household AMI in the city of Albany is $116,100 a year, according to Fannie Mae data.
Originally developed in 1911, the building later underwent a major renovation, and served from 1982 until 2021 as offices for the New York State Division of Parole, which left in 2021. It has been vacant since then. In 2024, the Selfridge & Langford Building was listed in the State and National Registers of Historic Places as a rare, early example of a Neoclassical-style reinforced concrete building in the city of Albany.
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The redevelopment efforts will modernize the building with extensive upgrades, but not at the expense of its historic character. New interior walls will be added to create the residential apartments, and there will be new roofing, updated plumbing and masonry restoration. Upon completion, the structure will use energy-efficient, all-electric heating and cooling systems. Residents will have access to common gathering spaces and a fitness room.
The New York Homes and Community Renewal’s Small Buildings Participation Loan Program, which assists in financing buildings with between five and 50 units, provided $7.3 million for the redevelopment. The New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation is facilitating the use of an estimated $4.2 million in federal and state Historic Rehabilitation Tax Credits. Community Preservation Corp. is providing additional financing in the form of a $5.3 million permanent loan.
New York’s affordability agenda
New York State Homes and Community Renewal, the state’s affordable housing agency and housing finance entity, reports that it has created or preserved more than 2,300 affordable homes in Albany County, including more than 1,900 in the city of Albany.
The New York City Housing Partnership Corp., a nonprofit serving as an intermediary among public agencies, developers, financial institutions and residents to facilitate housing development, launched an Asset Management and Housing Stability Unit in early March. The new entity has been tasked to help New York City’s affordable housing stakeholders impacted by increasing risk and distress in the rent-regulated market.
Also in March, the Prospect Park South Portfolio, an eight-building, 387-unit collection of affordable housing assets in Brooklyn, traded hands for $79.9 million, or $193 per square foot, in a deal arranged by Ariel Property Advisors.
A month prior, a joint venture of Related Cos., Phipps Houses and Monadnock Construction secured $136.5 million in Fannie Mae bonds for Hunter’s Point South Commons, a 619-unit affordable housing community on Long Island.
