Construction ahead of schedule on major housing project

By JOE LoTEMPLIO
Staff Writer

May 15, 2008 04:00 am

— PLATTSBURGH -- Construction is ahead of schedule on White Pine Commons, and residents are expected to be moving in later this summer.
"Luck Brothers Builders have been tremendous on this project, and they are ahead of schedule," said Gordon Hazel, executive director of the Joint Council for Economic Opportunity.
"It's not often that projects are ahead of schedule, so we are very fortunate."
Construction began on the $6.6 million housing project last October after four years of work to get approval from the Town of Plattsburgh.
The project is designed to house people who earn between $23,400 and $37,650 per year and who pass criminal, credit and sex-offender checks.
JCEO purchased 42 acres at the corner of Wallace Hill Road and Military Turnpike to house the project.
Funding was bolstered by $1.5 million from the state and $486,000 worth of tax credits from the state's Low Income Housing Credit Program.
The project features 16 duplexes for 32 units of two-, three- and four-bedroom living spaces. There is also a community building for offices and laundry services.
The project came under scrutiny from some neighbors who worried about having a low-to-moderate-income project near their houses.
Hazel said the project will be a nice fit for the area.
"This is going to look like any neighborhood in America.
"Kids will be going to school, people will be going to work, and it will be just like everyplace else."
Hazel noted that almost all of the more than $6 million for the project was spent locally.
"We got our supplies here; the contractors are from here. We kept everything local."
The buildings are close to complete, and workers are now laying sidewalks and working on lawns.
Hazel said he hopes to have people living in the units by mid-August.
"We've got about 70 to 75 percent of the units rented already, and there is a lot of interest.
"I've been here 19 years, and this is the most exciting project I think we've been involved in."
jlotemplio@pressrepublican.com

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