Work finished on building
Tapestry on the Hudson billed as a new mixed-income community
TROY, N.Y.» A $22 million mixedincome housing project on River Street is nearing completion, with a grand-opening event scheduled for next week.
Tapestry on the Hudson is located at 599 River St., in a circa 1899 shirt collar factory better known as the Mooradian’s building because of its later use as a furniture store and warehouse.
After sitting vacant for many years and seeing another developer’s attempt at reviving it fail, The Community Builders, a nonprofit developer with offices in Boston, New York, Chicago, Cincinnati and Washington, purchased the property in August 2014 for just shy of $1 million.
Construction began in March 2016 and is currently wrapping up. The building will be formally unveiled at a ribbon-cutting ceremony at 11 a.m. Tuesday.
The seven-story building houses 67 one- and two-
bedroom apartment units, some of which already have tenants. One of those new residents, Donna Manning, said she is very happy in her new home.
“I am loving it,” said Manning, who moved in at the end of April. “I just love the space itself. The apartments — the airiness, the light — they’re pretty luxurious.”
The building itself was also a big draw for The Community Builders, according to Susan McCann, regional vice president of development. McCann also loved the neighborhood, envisioning a project that could serve people with a variety of incomes.
“We fell in love with the architecture of the building,” she said. “We thought it had great open space and structural integrity.”
As the organization got to work developing the property, parking and a deteriorating seawall were significant challenges, but both were overcame. The seawall was repaired, and an elevated green terrace created a solution to the parking problem by offering parking space beneath. Even with those bumps in the road, project manager Jennica Petrik-Huff proudly pointed out the project’s quick turnaround.
“We’ll be fully occupied in three years from purchase of the building, so it’s been developed in a very timely fashion,” she said.
The first residents moved in the last weekend of April, and the building is expected to be full by mid-July.
“We had a ton of interest, ” Petrik-Huff said, with management currently working through a waiting list.
The goal is for Tapestry on the Hudson to be an affordable, mixed-income community, with rents ranging from $750 to $800 per month for one-bedroom apartments and $900 to $1,040 per month for two-bedroom units. Those numbers were determined through a market study.
“We make sure we aren’t overburdening people with the amount of rent we’re charging,” McCann said.
Amenities include a fitness center, an outdoor playground, heating and cooling through a geothermal system, common areas with wi-fi, laundry rooms on every floor and on-site management and maintenance. As developer, owner and property manager, The Community Builders’ mission is to build and sustain strong communities where people of all incomes can achieve their full potential.
“It’s been an honor to work on it with the team that we have,” Petrik-Huff added. “It doesn’t stop here. We’re in it for the long haul. We don’t just flip things and walk away; we are dedicated to the communities that we are building in.”
The building will also have some support services available through a partnership with local human services agency Unity House, which helped Manning get into the community. While housing for lowincome residents is often bare bones, Manning said, her new home is anything but.
“It’s a lovely place,” Manning said, “and most important for me, at 52 years old, I never have to worry about housing again. What a tremendous gift.”
For more information on Tapestry on the Hudson, visit www.tapestryonthehudson.com or call 268-2501.