When a Village’s Workers Can’t Afford to Stay
The Village of Tannersville, nestled in New York’s Greene County in the Catskill Mountains, is known for its charm: painted storefronts along Main Street, sweeping mountain vistas, a seasonal hum of visitors. Yet behind the postcard image lies a problem that has grown steadily worse—affordable housing.
As tourism and second-home ownership increase, the stock of year-round housing has shrunk. Homes that once belonged to local families are converted into vacation rentals or seasonal escapes. Meanwhile, local rents rise beyond what many workers can pay. The very people who make Tannersville run—restaurant staff, shop clerks, landscapers, first responders, caregivers—are struggling to find a place to live near their jobs.
The data tells the story starkly:
- 18.2% of Tannersville residents live in poverty, well above New York State’s 14.2% average. Among residents with disabilities, nearly 1 in 3 lives below the poverty line.1
- Most households below the poverty line are renters, meaning they are acutely vulnerable to rising rents and low vacancy.
- Across Greene County, many residents spend more than 30–50% of their income on housing, leaving little for food, transportation, or savings.2
Local employers have reported that lack of affordable housing makes it difficult to attract or retain staff. In some cases, shops and restaurants have had to cut hours, not for lack of customers, but because employees cannot find homes within a reasonable commute.
This isn’t just an inconvenience—it’s a threat to the future of the village. Without affordable housing, Main Street empties, seniors are forced out, and the local economy begins to falter.
Reclaiming Space, Restoring Dignity
In the center of Tannersville stood a long-vacant hotel and adjacent deteriorating buildings—a reminder of past prosperity and present decline. Instead of accepting blight, the community has reimagined the site as something transformative: a new affordable housing development called Cold Spring Apartments, creating 56 homes that local workers and seniors can actually afford.
Cold Spring Apartments is designed to be more than a building; it is a community that reflects the diversity of Tannersville itself. The new homes are intentionally intergenerational, creating space for both working families and older residents. Roughly forty apartments will be reserved for households earning between 50% and 90% of Area Median Income (AMI)—people who make the town’s businesses, schools, and services run but often cannot find stable housing close to their jobs. At the same time, fifteen apartments will welcome seniors aged 55 and older whose incomes fall between 30% and 50% of AMI, offering them the chance to age with dignity in a familiar place rather than being forced to leave the community they’ve helped shape.
Within the overall development, certain groups receive thoughtful priority. Eleven apartments will be first offered to individuals and families who already live or work in Greene County, ensuring that local workers and neighbors are the ones who directly benefit from this new investment. In addition, nine apartments are carefully designed for residents with disabilities: six are built with mobility accessibility in mind, while three are tailored for individuals with visual or hearing impairments. These decisions embed inclusivity into the very blueprint of the project, underscoring that everyone—regardless of age, income, or physical ability—deserves a safe, affordable place to call home.
The vision for Cold Spring extends beyond affordability; it is equally about sustainability and long-term resilience. The apartments are being built to Passive House (PHIUS) standards and are on track to achieve LEED for Homes certification at the Silver or Gold level. These standards aren’t just badges of environmental responsibility—they translate into lower energy costs for residents and healthier living environments. A geothermal heat pump system will provide heating, cooling, and hot water, significantly reducing utility bills while cutting reliance on fossil fuels. Outside, the development will provide 92 parking spaces, including multiple EV charging stations, a nod to both current needs and a more sustainable future.
This isn’t just construction. It is reclamation—turning abandoned property into living, breathing community again.
The Role of Leviticus Fund
Big projects like Cold Spring Apartments require more than blueprints; they require belief, commitment, and patient capital. That’s where Leviticus Fund stepped in.
Leviticus provided a forward loan commitment of $1.4 million, to be finalized once the apartments are occupied. This commitment was critical: it signaled to other funders that the project was viable, helped de-risk the financing, and ensured momentum could continue.
This isn’t the type of capital that makes headlines, but it is the type that makes the difference between vision and reality. By standing behind this project, Leviticus Fund effectively said to the people of Tannersville: you matter, your work matters, your future here matters.
As Leviticus Fund’s leadership has emphasized, creating affordable housing is about dignity and opportunity. It’s about telling families, workers, and seniors that they deserve the same chance to succeed as those with greater means.
Human Impact: What 56 Homes Mean
Statistics can feel abstract, but the meaning is deeply human:
- For a single parent working in a café, an affordable apartment means a shorter commute and more time at home with their child.
- For a senior on a fixed income, it means the relief of knowing that rent and utilities won’t consume their entire monthly check.
- For the small business owner on Main Street, it means a more reliable workforce, and a steadier stream of customers who live nearby.
Affordable housing is not just a roof—it is stability, health, and community. Each one of the 56 apartments represents a chance for a household to stay rooted in the place they love.
A Broader Lesson
The housing crisis in Tannersville reflects a broader challenge across rural and small-town America. Rising costs, stagnant wages, and the spread of seasonal housing threaten to push out the very people who sustain local economies. Solutions require not just local will, but capital that is willing to be flexible, catalytic, and deeply mission-driven.
Leviticus Fund’s involvement in Tannersville shows what is possible when such capital steps in: abandoned properties become new homes, struggling communities regain footing, and the cycle of displacement is slowed.
Looking Ahead
Cold Spring Apartments will not, by itself, solve the housing crisis in Greene County. But it is a start, and an example. It shows how the right partners, the right commitment, and the right financial tools can create permanent, dignified housing in places that need it most.For those interested in how community finance supports solutions like this, CNote shares these stories because they illuminate the power of aligned capital. Every dollar committed in this way becomes more than an investment; it becomes a building block of equity, resilience, and hope.
- https://www.city-data.com/poverty/poverty-Tannersville-New-York.html ↩︎
- https://regionalopportunityinc.org/src-content/uploads/2024/01/Indiana-Uplands-Housing-Study-Addendum-2.E-Greene-County.pdf ↩︎
Photo Credit: Photo with Credit to RUPCO
