Faith Moore, senior vice president of housing programs and solutions at Repco Inc., told the Orange County Housing Task Force that Repco has state funding and programs ready to expand affordable housing across the Hudson Valley and in Orange County in particular.

Moore said Repco is administering roughly $17 million in grant funding across four counties that can be used for accessory dwelling units (ADUs) and related projects, and that about $4 million of that has been set aside to serve Orange County. She described a sequence of programs aimed at different parts of the housing gap: ADU grants for homeowners, a vacant-rental improvement program for small landlords, and a targeted home‑improvement grant program in the city of Newburgh.

Why it matters: Moore framed the funding as a low‑impact, cost‑effective way to increase housing supply quickly — by enabling homeowners to add units on existing lots, bringing vacant rental units back into service, and paying for critical home repairs that help residents remain housed.

Market snapshot and affordability gap
Moore said home prices in the county have climbed from just under $260,000 in February 2019 to about $430,000 “today,” a roughly 65% increase she cited to show price pressure. She added mortgage payments have more than doubled in the same period, from about $1,170 monthly to roughly $2,641, and that inventory of homes for sale is down about 51 percent, leaving roughly a three‑month supply — all factors she said are pushing households past the common affordability threshold of 30% of gross income.

Accessory dwelling unit (ADU) program
Moore said Repco’s ADU program — often described in the presentation as the “Plus 1” program — will offer grants of up to $125,000 per homeowner to create an ADU (converting a garage, basement or adding an addition). Eligibility for that program is limited to households at or below 120% of area median income (AMI), Moore said. She noted New York state classifies ADUs in a range from 500 to 1,500 square feet and said the typical ADU in the program has been about 900 square feet.

Moore told the task force municipalities must provide a one‑page support letter that confirms existing zoning allows ADUs in order for Repco to accept and review applications from that municipality. “Without that letter, I can't review applications for that municipality,” she said. Moore said some towns already have provided letters, while several others that have resident interest had not yet done so.

Programs to revive vacant rentals and repair homes
Repco’s vacant rental improvement program, Moore said, offers up to $75,000 to small landlords (buildings of five units or fewer) to rehab a vacant unit. In exchange, the owner must lease the unit at a 60% AMI rent level when funded at $75,000, or at an 80% AMI rent level if funded at $50,000; those affordability commitments run for 10 years, she said.

Moore also described the Targeted Home Improvement Program (T‑HIPP) operating in the city of Newburgh, which provides up to $40,000 per homeowner for repairs to residents at or below 80% AMI. She said that program — a roughly $5 million effort cited in her remarks — helps homeowners who otherwise defer major repairs for budget reasons.

Scale, staffing and partners
Moore said the Hudson Valley vacancy‑to‑rental program has about $5 million in regional funds targeted to bring roughly 80 units back into service. She described Repco’s regional footprint (nine counties in the Hudson Valley, with offices in Kingston, Monticello, Walden and Newburgh) and said Repco employs about 109 full‑time staff across the region.

Barriers and municipal concerns
Task force members and Moore explored several common municipal concerns. Moore acknowledged municipalities worry about infrastructure stress if ADUs are widely allowed, and about “not in my backyard” objections and perceived impacts on schools, police and fire services. She also described a frequent source of resistance: misunderstanding of payment‑in‑lieu‑of‑taxes (PILOT) arrangements. Moore said developers and non‑profit builders sometimes request a PILOT to make small multifamily projects financially viable, and that public messaging must explain those arrangements clearly because residents often hear “not paying taxes” when a PILOT is discussed.

Moore also said counties and municipalities can adopt local preference policies that award application points to residents or workers of a given municipality; she said pre‑approved preference systems have been cleared with state fair‑housing reviewers in prior projects and can be used in subsidized sales and rental projects.

Next steps and requests to the task force
Moore asked the task force and municipal leaders to: (1) sign or encourage local governments to sign the simple support letter for the ADU grant application process; (2) consider streamlining permitting for small projects; and (3) refer qualified local contractors to Repco for bid lists. She offered to return for further briefings and to coordinate site vetting where towns are willing to support applications.

Moore also noted a ribbon cutting for an ADU project on June 25 (project photos were shown in the presentation) and described an example where a homeowner will use an ADU to bring an elderly parent back home.

Meeting outcome
The meeting closed after the presentation and discussion. The task force made a motion to adjourn that was seconded and carried by voice vote.

Ending
Moore said she would follow up with municipalities and would continue to accept community members, contractors and local leaders who want to engage on program applications and zoning coordination.