Century-Old NY Building Reopens After $67M Rehab
Olbiston Apartments debuted in 1898. Its renovation began in 2021.
Liberty Affordable Housing has wrapped up the $67 million rehabilitation of Olbiston Apartments, a 153-unit affordable community in Utica, N.Y. Liberty purchased the 126-year-old property in 2021, after the city had shut it down for gross negligence.
State financing for the renovation included $4.8 million in permanent tax-exempt bonds, $22 million in low-income housing tax credit, $16.3 million in subsidies from New York State Homes and Community Renewal. The City of Utica also provided Liberty with a 32-year PILOT agreement and $3 million from its Prosperity Initiative.
The New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation issued roughly $12.2 million in federal and state Historic Rehabilitation Tax Credits.
The redeveloped, 158,000-square-foot Olbiston Apartments has studio, one- and two-bedroom floorplans. Of the 153 units, 11 are reserved for residents earning up to 80 percent of the Area Median Income while 142 units are restricted for individuals earning at or below 60 AMI. Amenities feature a computer lab, community room, green space and a new roof deck.
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The building achieved Energy Star Multifamily New Construction Program and Enterprise Green Communities 2020 certification through sustainable building practices, such as installing a new roof membrane with increased insulation, cold climate heat pumps, as well as a centralized hot-water system.
Located at 1431 Genesee St., the community is some 4 miles southwest of Interstate 90, while downtown Syracuse is roughly 56 miles west. The community is near several bus stops, eateries and a playground, while Roscoe Conkling Park, which includes a zoo and a golf course, is less than 3 miles away.
Olbiston Apartments initially debuted in 1898, rising to replace another structure, which had burned down two years prior. Upon its completion more than a century ago, the community included 100 units and was the largest apartment building from Utica to Buffalo, N.Y.
As time wore on, the property began to deteriorate. In 2021, an inspection revealed unsafe conditions which lead to residents’ evacuation and prompted the building’s shutdown. Liberty subsequently kicked off Olbiston’s rehabilitation process.
Restoring a century-old, historic building
Charles A. Gaetano Construction worked on the historic property’s restoration. The seven-story Olbiston’s rehabilitation process involved the replacement of elevators and some windows. The contractor restored the historic marble and wood floors, as well as the marble wainscoting and base.
The renovation procedures also included the cleaning, rebuilding and repointing of the building’s stone and brick façade. Additionally, the construction company replicated and set into place Olbiston’s historic cone structures and round turrets.
New York State’s efforts to address housing affordability
As part of the New York state’s fiscal budget for 2023, Gov. Kathy Hochul proposed a $25 billion plan for the building and conservation of 100,000 affordable units. In January of last year, the state awarded $390 million in bonds and subsidies to construct and preserve upward of 1,600 affordable units.
Several months later, the state issued $406 million in bonds and subsidies to build roughly 800 affordable units in five transit-oriented developments. To date, developers built or preserved north of 40,000 units.
Last month, Community Services for Every1 and Edgemere Development opened Apartments at the Lyceum, a 42-unit affordable community in Buffalo, N.Y. The venture redeveloped St. John Kanty Lyceum, a former historic school.
