Completion Date for Affordable Housing Project in Sight

The idea of constructing affordable housing in Rye, on a site owned by Westchester County, goes back to the 1980s, but it wasn’t until 2013 that the dream began to take shape. And by early next year, expect to see people moving in to the four-story, 41-unit building going up at the intersection of Theodore Fremd Avenue and North Street.

Earlier this month, the last hurdle was completed, and with the project financing in place, developer Lou Larizza expects the modular units to arrive any day.

All the preliminary site work on the 2.07-acre property development was completed by the spring of 2016 and it was hoped the project would be completed by last fall.

However, the New York Housing Finance Agency reported a huge backlog in processing new projects, which delayed the start by many months. But, reported Larizza, thanks to the efforts of State Senator George Latimer and Assemblyman Steve Otis, the project got back on track.

By mid-April, all the infrastructure and utilities were in place, and the office and other non-residential elements of the project the grounds near completion.

The units will start arriving from the Scranton, Pa., in early June, and take about two months to be assembled, using cranes and rigging services to mount them down from above — sort of like a three-dimensional jigsaw puzzle, or Legos.

When finished, 27 of the units will be counted toward the Federal government’s requirement of 750 affordable housing units throughout Westchester County.

Michael Martino, an associate of Mr. Larizza, estimates the project with be completed within another six months, with people moving in by January or February of 2018.

— Bill Lawyer