The state Office of Homes and Community Renewal has named the city of Cortland a pro-housing community, making the city eligible to apply for up to $650 million in grants.
The City Council approved a resolution expressing intent to seek a Pro-Housing designation last February.
To win the designation, the city must streamline the process for renovating and adding new multifamily housing, affordable housing, accessible housing, accessory dwelling units and supportive housing. Mayor Scott Steve said,
“As part of this designation, the city will look to incorporate regional housing needs into our local planning decisions with a goal of increasing the development of housing units,” Steve said in a release.
Several state-funded grant programs are tied to the Pro-Housing initiative including Restore NY and the Pro-Housing Communities capital grant program. The state made $40 million available this year to communities that have received the Pro-Housing designation and are looking to undertake infrastructure, blight removal, and redevelopment projects or projects that create accessible job centers, sustainable infrastructure and livable communities.
Recently the city sent a letter of intent to apply for funding through the Restore NY program and will soon begin a review and update of its comprehensive plan with an eye toward updating land use regulations that encourage the development of more housing.
Cortland is the only municipality in Cortland County to achieve the Pro-Housing designation and one of 13 communities in the Central New York Regional Economic Development region to be included in the initiative.
The designation, which has been awarded to 162 communities, is given to local governments working to expand housing. The Pro-Housing program was created in July 2023.
“We recognize Governor Hochul’s leadership in easing New York’s Housing crisis, the City of Cortland has seen many investments in adaptive re-use to create more housing and there are several projects in the works that will improve Cortland’s housing stock,” Steve said.
