Renovations complete at Elizabeth Square Apartments in Waverly

New York State Homes and Community Renewal (HCR) recently joined Liberty Affordable Housing, Inc. to celebrate the completion of a total renovation of Elizabeth Square Apartments, 75 affordable homes for low-income seniors in Tioga County. The development complements Southern Tier Soaring, Governor Cuomo’s comprehensive strategy to revitalize communities and grow the economy.

The HCR Commissioner, RuthAnne Visnauskas, stated, “The total renovation of the Elizabeth Square Apartments is a concrete example of Governor Cuomo’s commitment to preserving affordable housing for senior New Yorkers. This $9 million investment, which includes the library, will enhance the quality of life for members of the 75 households who will be able to continue to live there independently, as well as the broader community that will have access to a valuable resource. Projects like this demonstrate that the Southern Tier truly is soaring.”

The substantial renovation of this six-story building, originally constructed in 1983, included the installation of new windows and doors; a new insulated roofing system; masonry re-pointing; elevator car modernization; a state of the art entry monitoring system; emergency back-up generator; electric baseboard heaters, and a new deck and entry canopy. All common areas were updated with new paint and flooring. Each individual apartment was updated with new paint, flooring, ceilings, kitchen cabinets and counters, and new bathrooms. All new appliances and lighting will be Energy Star rated and all new plumbing fixtures will be low-flow. 

The Waverly Free Library, located on the first floor of the building, was updated with new roofing, canopy, windows, automatic ADA-compliant entry doors, new PTAC heating units, interior finishes particularly ceiling and lighting upgrades, new carpeting, complete refurbishment of two restrooms including ADA compliance for the public restroom, office upgrades, installation of a safety crash bar and a new back exit door to parking lot and other electric and plumbing upgrades.

Liberty Affordable Housing’s Executive Director, Davis Yohe, stated, “Liberty is pleased to celebrate the completion of its revitalization of the Elizabeth Square Apartments. We mark another step forward in our mission of providing better lives through better housing.”

New York State Homes and Community Renewal financing for the $9 million project includes: $5.3 million through fixed-rate tax-exempt bonds from the Housing Finance Agency (HFA) and a $1 million HFA subsidy loan, Low Income Housing Tax Credits which leverage about $2.3 million of tax credit equity and a $1.4 million loan from the Community Investment Fund. 

The renovations will preserve affordability for very low-income seniors with an average income level of 28 percent of the Area Median Income. Various residents depend on Project Based Section 8 assistance and would likely be displaced if not for this preservation project, according to a release received from New York State Homes and Community Renewal.