Gov. Kathy Hochul on July 28, 2026, joined officials to break ground on Phase II of the Kingston Housing Authority Redevelopment, a 238-unit project that will rehabilitate two aging public housing developments and replace a third with new senior housing in Ulster County.

The project pairs preservation with new construction: crews will modernize 158 existing apartments at Colonial Gardens and Wiltwyck Gardens, both built in the 1970s, while demolishing the obsolete 32-unit Penn Court development and replacing it with an 80-unit building reserved for seniors.

Financing Combines State, Federal and County Sources

New York State Homes and Community Renewal (HCR) is providing roughly $35 million in program funding. Federal and state Low-Income Housing Tax Credits are expected to generate nearly $58 million in equity, and the Clean Energy Initiative — a joint HCR-NYSERDA program — is contributing $2 million toward sustainability features. Ulster County is adding $700,000 through its Housing Action Grant Program.

Mountco Construction and Development Corp. is developing the project in partnership with the Kingston Housing Authority. Additional development partners include Hudson Housing Capital, JPMorgan Chase and supportive-service provider Gateway Hudson Valley.

Supportive Housing for Formerly Homeless Seniors

Thirty of the 80 new Penn Court apartments will be set aside as supportive housing for formerly homeless seniors through the Empire State Supportive Housing Initiative, with services coordinated through the New York State Department of Health. Thirteen apartments across the redevelopment will be adapted for households with mobility impairments, and six for households with audio/visual impairments. All units will be affordable to households earning at or below 100 percent of the Area Median Income.

All-Electric Buildings With Green Design Standards

Every building in the redevelopment will be all-electric and built to Enterprise Green Communities Plus criteria, incorporating rooftop solar arrays, EV charging stations and energy-efficient mechanical systems.

Phase I of the redevelopment, completed in 2025, rehabilitated 120 apartments at the Leonard & Vera Van Dyke Apartments.

Part of a Statewide $25 Billion Housing Push

The Kingston project advances Hochul’s five-year, $25 billion Housing Plan, which aims to create or preserve 100,000 affordable homes statewide. More than 81,000 have been created or preserved to date, and the FY27 Executive Budget adds $250 million in capital funding to accelerate construction of new affordable housing.

While Kingston’s approach leans on rehabilitating and expanding public housing stock, cities elsewhere are pursuing a different route to the same goal. In Chicago, a $162 million office-to-residential conversion at 500 N. Michigan Ave. is turning vacant downtown office space into 320 new homes — evidence that the housing supply crunch is being tackled through both preservation and adaptive reuse.

Factsheet: Phase II of the Kingston Housing Authority Redevelopment

• Location: Kingston, Ulster County, New York
• Total units: 238 (Phase II)
• Rehabilitated units: 158 at Colonial Gardens and Wiltwyck Gardens
• New construction: 80-unit senior building replacing Penn Court
• Supportive housing units: 30, for formerly homeless seniors
• Accessibility: 13 mobility-adapted units, 6 audio/visual-adapted units
• Total cost (Phase II): $112 Million
• State funding: $35 million from NYS Homes and Community Renewal
• Tax credit equity: $58 million (Federal and State LIHTC)
• Clean energy funding: $2 million (HCR/NYSERDA Clean Energy Initiative)
• County funding: $700,000 (Ulster County Housing Action Grant Program)
• Developer: Mountco Construction and Development Corp., with Kingston Housing Authority
• Design standard: Enterprise Green Communities Plus, all-electric
• Groundbreaking: July 28, 2026