A palpable feeling of collective accomplishment — of a community job well done – wafted through the cloudy, chilly air at the ribbon-cutting early last Friday afternoon of the Golden Hill Apartments, the 164-unit affordable housing project in Kingston co-developed by Pennrose and Family of Woodstock. At the beginning of the inevitable speechifying, the sun peeking for a fleeting moment through the clouds served as a benediction reminiscent of a slogan Family of Woodstock had adopted during its hippie days of the early 1970s: “Any problem under the sun.”
The problem, in the 1970s as now, is the lack of appropriate affordable housing in Ulster County. And all apartments in this project, which adds just short of 1.5 percent to the total number of Kingston’s housing units, are available exclusively to households earning between 30 and 80 percent of the area median income.
The project followed no cookie-cutter design. The Philadelphia architect who designed it had spent many hours inquiring about neighborhood needs and preferences. She contributed a smiling face at the ribbon-cutting.
Whoever heard of a public housing project which boasted of introducing 10,000 plants bordering its newly installed turf between its buildings, and which reserved space for a community garden on its 20-acre premises? And who would have thought of creating small balconies outside some of the apartments for the tenants to enjoy the view of the turf, the flowers, the sidewalks and a children’s playground beyond?
That type of thinking resulted in a large number of features that may make the Golden Hill Apartments a dream come true for low-income residents. Some of the units are scheduled to be occupied before year’s end.
As Family executive director Michael Berg put it, Golden Hill was a place thoughtfully designed “for people who live in Ulster County, not for people who want to live here.”
Housing built during the past 20 years had not aligned with the income levels of county residents, Berg explained. “The Golden Hill project is especially important because it is the first workforce housing built specifically to address the needs of that local population,” he said.
That includes residents who currently live in homeless shelters or families are crammed into motel rooms. For a mother who has lived for years with her kids in a single room in a motel off Route 28 coping with bedbugs, intermittent electrical outages, and eating mostly from cans, getting a fresh new apartment plus a variety of non-judgmental support services at Golden Hill would be like winning the lottery.
It is in fact winning the lottery. Some 116 of the 164 apartments will be filled via a lottery, and the remaining 48 set aside for referrals. “We will reach out to you when we get to your lottery number,” co-developer Pennrose, which says it’s following state rules, has very recently written. “We appreciate your patience as we are addressing a high volume of inquiries.”
Intergenerational community
Monthly rents for single-bedroom apartments range from $977 to $1662 per month, two-bedroom units rent for $1987 per month, and three-bedroom units for $2273. Residents are responsible for electric and cable.
What amenities do tenants get other than open green space, walking paths and picnic area? A modestly elegant community center, health service programs, child care, a spanking new fitness center, the playground for children, child care, bike storage, on-site parking, direct access to the Empire State trail, access to public transportation, all-electric buildings, EV charging stations, a rooftop solar system, free broadband Internet, central air conditioning, a modern kitchen with stainless-steel appliances, spacious closets and vinyl flooring, laundry facilities, and a pet-friendly environment with certain restrictions. Also promised is accessibility to full-time management with 24-hour emergency call service.
Prospective residents will be screened for credit, criminal and landlord background by a third-party agency.
A place of possibility
Like most of the speakers, county executive Jen Metzger was exultant, “We’ve transformed a former jail site into a vibrant, intergenerational community that offers not just housing, but services and amenities supporting a high quality of life for the seniors, children, families, and individuals who will call this beautiful community their home,” she said.
“Golden Hill represents more than affordable housing,” said county legislature chair Peter Criswell. “It’s a transformation from a place of confinement into a place of possibility. We literally tore down the walls of the old Ulster County Jail to build 164 homes where families, seniors, and individuals can reclaim their futures. This is what investing in community looks like: giving people not just a roof, but their dignity and their lives back.”
Several other speakers at this emotional occasion echoed the theme of contrast. The old jail, a place of incarceration and punishment, was being replaced by a large housing project offering hope and aspiration.
The Pennrose executives on hand were not shy about mentioning that the Golden Hill Apartments had come in under budget and ahead of its scheduled completion date.
The level of Pennrose’s attention to detail was as evident in the preparation for the day’s event as it had been in the careful formation of the mixed intergenerational community of tenants. Pennrose sure does know how to stage what it does
Technicians carefully adjusted the sound system prior to the speeches. Bales of hay adorned with assorted pumpkins were placed on both sides of the podium facing four rows of 21 occupied white folding chairs each inside the ceremonial tent. Sixty or so unseated attendees stood in back and on the side of the tent.
Everybody on board
Assembling the financing for what has turned out to be an $87-million project was no easy matter. Pennrose was willing to advocate for what its customer wanted — as long as the customer could somehow raise money to pay for it.
Mostly, that meant vigorously shaking the governmental money tree. Politicos with knowledge of and access to agencies went to work. Launched with a $10-million state Mid-Hudson Momentum grant, the Golden Hill Apartments gathered local, county, state and federal funding. Ancillary grants and subsidies were contributed by state agencies and the state executive branch. Federal and state tax credits were accessed through state housing and community renewal commissioner RuthAnne Visnauskas. One of the speakers praised by others was Ulster Savings Bank CEO Bill Calderada, who arranged additional financing through the Federal Home Loan Bank.
The vision for Golden Hill espoused by congressmember and former county executive Pat Ryan had evolved gradually as state representatives and county and state officials warmed to the possibilities. Each constituency wanting to include it wanted was willing to help support what others wanted.
The Golden Hill Apartments became less of a dream and more of an expensive reality in formation. Its success became an expression of the kind of project of which Ulster County at its best was capable – a complete new neighborhood within a larger caring community.
Pennrose, which had painted the picture its customer had sketched out, was pleased. “Golden Hill demonstrates how public and private sectors can work collaboratively to implement meaningful housing solutions,” said Pennrose acquisitions head Dylan Salmons at the ribbon-cutting, “transforming an underutilized site into energy-efficient, multi-generational housing with on-site supportive services, connected community resources, and tailored amenities.”
“This is the model we should be doing,” agreed state senator Michelle Hinchey.
The city on the hill
Pennrose is a rapidly expanding profit-making organization that does not release its financial information. It says on its website that it is now managing or developing 102 sites in the eastern part of the country.
The 164 impeccable housing units and surrounding amenities on Golden Hill have cost $525,000 per unit to build. The amenities are not just adornments. They may help create a strong sense of community in an outlying neighborhood of Kingston. But will that be enough to turn around the lives of the residents? .
The various governments and their elected representatives were willing to invest lots of what critics often term “hard-earned taxpayer money” on creating a little-tested innovative model of public housing in which people in county legislative chair Peter Criswell’s words “would get not just a roof, but their dignity and their lives back.”
Will Golden Hill bring back its residents’ dignity? Is the effort worth the try?
It was Ronald Reagan who praised those who sought to create “a shining city on the hill,” as John Winthrop had in Plymouth in 1620, for “possessing an abiding love of freedom and a special kind of courage.”
Michael Berg said that additional affordable housing was needed in Ulster County, and that Family would continue to help create and support projects like the one on Golden Hill.
Join the family! 
