INHS proposes 56 one‑bed senior apartments with daycare at West State Street site

INHS presented a proposal to redevelop the municipal parking lot and an existing family medical building at West State and South Geneva Streets into a five‑story mixed‑income senior rental building with a daycare on the first floor.

The project would contain 56 one‑bedroom apartments, most targeted at households earning up to 60 percent of area median income (AMI). INHS said it would define “senior” as age 62 and older for this property and that the development would accept Housing Choice Vouchers. Victoria, a developer with Neighborhood Housing Services (INHS), said the building would be all‑electric and designed to meet passive‑house standards.

INHS said the first floor would reserve roughly half of the space for a daycare operator; the nonprofit is negotiating with potential operators including TCA and Downtown Ithaca Children’s Center and expects any commercial lease to be set at a below‑market rate. The site plan presented to the IURA included 12 parking spaces under the building. Victoria said zoning does not require parking but the team tried to include tuck‑under parking where feasible.

Why it matters: the presentation framed the project as a response to the city’s consolidated plan priority for affordable housing and to INHS’s wait lists for one‑bedroom units. INHS reported a wait list for one‑bedroom apartments in its Ithaca portfolio and said many of those households are older; the organization told the board it manages roughly 750 rental apartments across its service area and helps nearly 3,000 neighbors access affordable housing annually.

Project financing and schedule: INHS presented a total project budget of roughly $25,000,000 and said most funding would come from New York State Homes and Community Renewal and the Low‑Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) program. The presentation said the organization would apply for LIHTC in fall 2025, look to start construction in August 2026 if awarded credits, complete construction in 2027 and anticipate six months for lease‑up (projected full occupancy by April 2028). INHS described any federal IRA/HUD entitlement funds requested as anticipated amounts and said IRA funds would be expended at construction closing; the organization also noted federal award formulas and HUD allocations remain estimates until the federal budget and HUD formula allocations are finalized.

Questions raised at the hearing focused on rent rules and long‑term affordability. A board member asked whether rents would be “rent stabilized” and INHS said rents would be constrained by HCR (New York State Homes and Community Renewal) maximums for funded units; an INHS representative said HCR sets maximum annual rent increases (historically around 2 percent but with occasional higher adjustments). Board members also asked about age definitions (INHS confirmed 62+ for this project), parking, daycare capacity and the project’s reliance on LIHTC and other competitive funding sources.

Community impacts and clarifications: INHS said the majority of units would target up to 60 percent AMI (one‑person household roughly up to $46,000, two‑person about $53,000 as examples cited in the presentation) and that accepting Housing Choice Vouchers would enable lower‑income voucher holders to access apartments. INHS also said the building would be walkable to the Commons and public transportation.

Next steps: INHS will pursue LIHTC and other state funding rounds later in 2025. Any IURA or city commitment of local entitlement funds would be subject to later staff review and contract terms if the grant award and site due diligence proceed.