The Kingston City Land Bank recently opened registration for purchase of four fully renovated single-family homes as part of the KCLB Keystone program. The rehabilitated structures, the first phase of Keystone Development, are open to potential buyers through a registration process driven by the income level of the purchaser.
“It’s very different than a market-rate acquisition,” explained KCLB executive director Mike Gilliard. “They appraise for two to three times what we’ll be selling them for, and that is the model and that is the mission.”
The homes, which had been tax-foreclosed by the City of Kingston, had been vacant for some time. Identified as having the potential to be renovated, each has undergone significant structural upgrades; with new plumbing, electrical, and insulation; updated kitchens, bathrooms, bedrooms, windows, roofs and flooring, and high-efficiency heating and cooling systems.
As the region continues to grapple with its housing crisis, Kingston mayor Steve Noble described the KCLB Keystone program as a lifeline to families which might otherwise be unable to afford home ownership.
“This is coming in online at such a critical time, and we know that housing prices are through the roof with interest rates,” Noble said. “To be able to have four homes that folks can afford on the market at a time when that’s not really very common is super-important.”
The homes are located at 28 Abbey Street (three bedrooms, two bathrooms, den), 20 Stephan Street (three bedrooms, one bathroom), 38 Chapel Street (three bedrooms, two bathrooms, den), and 69 Gill Street (two bedrooms, one bathroom). Prices are $210,877 for the Gill house and $238,411 each for the other three houses.
“We’re really just trying to encourage many people to register to be able to kind of go through the process that the Kingston City Land Bank has to be able to make sure that buyers get pre-qualified and are able to meet their specific income requirements,” said Noble.
One of the primary eligibility requirements for consideration is maximum income, with a two-person household’s annual ceiling set at $71,500; a three-person household at $80,450; four-person at $89,350; five-person at $96,500; and six-person at $103,650. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the median annual income in the City of Kingston was $62,071 in 2022, the most recent year recorded.
Other questions on the registration form found at https://kclb.org/homes/ include whether prospective buyers have a pre-qualification from a bank, whether they have a bankruptcy within the last 48 months, how much they have in savings to cover closing costs; and various questions about current living situations and a history of evictions.
The project is funded through the New York State Housing and Community Renewal’s Office of Community Renewal and federal American Rescue Plan Act funds. The KCLB has also launched further fundraising to ensure even greater affordability.
The KCLB was established by the City of Kingston in 2018 as a facilitator for returning
foreclosed properties to the tax rolls. “We are fortunate enough to be a municipal partner with the city,” Gilliard said. “We’re a non-profit organization, but we’re also a public authority, not unlike the water board.”
The process of identifying homes that might be a good fit for the KCLB Keystone requires due diligence, and not every potential property makes the cut.
“We run a phase-one report for environmental issues, a title report to make sure that once we finish our work our household could actually purchase the home and get a mortgage,” Gilliard said. “Sometimes there are issues with all sorts of things with title reports and environmental issues that we’ve caught, and so we haven’t purchased every property that’s been offered to us because some of those issues exist.”
The four properties currently up for sale did make the cut, and another two are in the works for 2025.
To give prospective purchasers a look at the homes, which are still under renovation,
the KCLB has uploaded four virtual home tours to its YouTube page (www.youtube.com/@kclb/videos). There will also be a series of public Zoom information sessions in both English and Spanish.
Registration for the current round of available homes is open through Sunday, December 15.
RUPCO is serving as KCLB’s home ownership counselor. Gilliard said 100 to 150 applicants per home are anticipated. The KCLB registration list is more than ten times that number.
“These things are not easy, and it’s not easy to get someone from starting the registration process by actually completing an application through RUPCO,” Gilliard said. “Eligibility is about more than income. “If you register, it does not mean that you’re going to be in our lottery or be able to purchase a home. It’s a long process, and I appreciate people’s willingness to trust the Kingston City Land Bank to help them navigate that process.”
Kingston is hopeful of continuing the program through abandoned properties if not through foreclosed properties. “There are a couple of those that are going through the court system right now,” said Noble. “So we think that there’ll be a couple of new houses available for them to work on in the next year .… It’s a good thing that people are able to get into these homes eventually that are affordable, and we’re really interested in targeting those properties that are abandoned here in the City of Kingston that we’ve identified. Over a dozen currently are sitting vacant and empty, and that no one really owns any more. So those are the ones that we’re really trying to focus our attention on for the next year.”
Pike Plan pause proceeds
The City of Kingston will consider options related to the proposed demolition of the Pike Plan canopies after the Common Council voted last week to seek lead agency status under the State Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQRA).
The move comes amid an ongoing legal dispute between the city and developer Neil Bender of Manhattan-based William Gottlieb Real Estate, who is attempting to block the demolition. The developer’s request for a temporary restraining order to stop the demolition was recently denied by state Supreme Court judge David Gandin, and the firm’s petition to have the canopies designated as a local landmark was also unanimously rejected by the city’s Historic Landmarks Preservation Commission.
The city is now seeking to dismiss both the developer’s lawsuit and the injunction.
The city was required to select a new property and casualty insurance carrier in June. The new premiums were $300,000 higher than those previously paid to Tokio Marine, a global insurance firm which chose not to renew Kingston’s policy that same month.
Kingston mayor Steve Noble has strongly supported the $1.2-million demolition plan, arguing that it is the best option for the area. He cited the high costs of maintaining or rebuilding the canopies — estimated at $10 million for reconstruction and $150,000 annually for upkeep, costs that would ultimately fall on local building owners.
— Crispin Kott
Join the family! 
