The Niagara Falls Urban Renewal Agency (URA) has approved the sale of four city-owned vacant lots in the South End as part of a larger project to construct 28 single-family homes in the city.
The agency unanimously approved the sale of lots at 2440, 2482 and 2499 MacKenna Ave., along with a parcel at 153 22nd St. to Niagara Falls Neighborhood Housing Services (NFNHS). The housing services agency will pay the URA $1,200 for each of the vacant lots.
Mayor Robert Restaino described the Mackenna Avenue properties as “unusually large” and said NFNHS plans to build new, single-family homes on the lots as part of the state’s MOVE-IN NY program. The mayor said the local housing services agency had received “conditional approval” from New York State Homes and Community Renewal Corporation (NYS HCR) to build 28 manufactured homes on lots in the city.”
URA Member Michael Hooper, who has also spent 25 years on the NFNHS board of directors but has not been involved in the agency’s home building plans, called the property sales “a win-win proposition.”
“Everybody wins here,” Hooper said. “People get new homes and the city gets rid of vacant lots.”
The MOVE-IN NY program looks to lower the cost of new home construction for low- and moderate-income buyers by building new residences “faster” and with “less customization” than typical new home builds. The program achieves those goals through the use of what are known as CrossMod homes.
CrossMod homes are manufactured residences that are pre-built to conform with U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) construction and safety standards. The homes also meet Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac manufactured home design guidelines.
The homes are typically 1,500 square feet and have 3 bedrooms and two baths. The cost of construction is $250,000 and the homes can be built and installed in as little as six months.