IURA staff presented July grant and loan reports and several program updates during the meeting.

Staff said the grant summary is being reformatted for readability and continues to track project schedules. Several projects were flagged as behind schedule as of July; staff cited Cleveland Avenue as an example that was behind schedule and addressed at the meeting. Staff said INHS’s homeowner rehab program continues to move projects forward and that all loan repayments were current.

Staff reported unexpected program income from INHS low-income housing tax credit projects with cash flow available; per HUD rules, that program income must be used before drawing from the line of credit and will be allocated to the next projects drawing funds. Lease payments and rents were reported current.

On state-level funding, staff said the governor announced a new Downtown Revitalization Initiative round. Staff also reported that the Restore New York award tied to the Southworks project remains active: the city application had been awarded approximately $2,000,000 to abate lead and asbestos in the building nearest the street (a roughly 100,000 square-foot structure), and Empire State Development approved a time extension through Dec. 31, 2026. The full renovation scope was described as roughly $2.9 million to ready the building for renovation.

Staff also reported that the city approved its portion of the community housing development fund allocation to the Sears Street homes at the most recent meeting; the broader allocation assigned $1,300,000 in assistance to 182 housing units (majority tied to an East State Street workforce housing project). Finally, staff announced the Ithacan residence has vacancies in 20 units rented at 80% of area median income and encouraged interested applicants to apply.

Staff indicated they are monitoring CDBG spend-down totals and added a new monthly expenditure tracking column to the grant summary to show which activities are drawing funds; staff said drawdowns are typically slower in June and July and that the agency remains behind the theoretical monthly target of about $75,000 to meet a steady spend-down pace.