Newcomb gets first affordable modular home as part of New York’s $50 million housing initiative
When the ribbon is cut on a new affordable starter home in Newcomb next week, it could have wider implications for a broad swath of the Adirondacks, where housing officials hope to develop 32 more houses just like it over the next two years
“Launching this CrossMod home in Newcomb marks a transformational moment for the Essex County Land Bank and for rural communities across the state, especially those within the Adirondack Park,” said Nicole Justice Green, Essex County Land Bank president and CEO.
Blend of efficiency, traditional design
CrossMods are beefed up manufactured homes that are built to HUD standards and qualify for traditional 30-year mortgages, although they share the manufactured homes’ cost advantages over stick built and modular construction.
The home is part of the $50 million MOVE-IN NY housing initiative announced by Gov. Kathy Hochul this week, which will build 200 starter homes across the state. The CrossMod Pilot Program, launched by New York State Homes and Community Renewal through the Land Bank Initiative, aims to help land banks across the state pioneer modern modular housing solutions that blend the efficiency of modular construction with the aesthetics and longevity of traditional site-built homes.
“This groundbreaking initiative has the potential to revolutionize the way we create high-quality, beautifully designed starter homes in New York,” Hochul said. “With the cooperation of our local partners in urban, rural, and suburban areas of the state, the MOVE-IN program will help address the rising cost of housing and enable more New Yorkers to afford a home of their own and achieve the dream of homeownership.”
At 1,500 square feet, they are small by modern standards, but more in line with historical housing sizes. In 1982, four in 10 new homes were this size; today, it’s fewer than one in 10.
In the Adirondacks, this problem is particularly acute, where it’s hard to convince the paucity of contractors to build small homes when so much more money can be made building large vacation homes.
So a solution is to build them elsewhere and deliver them by truck. Because they are built to HUD standards, they can qualify for 30-year mortgages and hold their value, unlike typical manufactured housing.
CrossMods also have cosmetic design features such as porches and pitched roofs that separate them from manufactured housing, generally known as mobile homes or doublewides. “These do not look like, feel like, or seem like what we envision as like a manufactured home or trailer,” Green said.
New life for zombie houses: Essex County Land Bank fully up and running
Organization grows from single condemned property to seven homes
Newcomb home costs $260K, will sell for $175K
According to Hochul’s office, the homes took six months to complete and cost approximately $250,000 to build and install—which is up to three times faster and nearly half the cost of comparably sized homes built using traditional construction methods. The homes will be sold for less than the cost of construction to low-and moderate-income homebuyers, to families earning up to 120% of Area Median Income. “Most families in our area are going to qualify for that,” Green said. “That’s a solid moderate-income for a middle-class family.”
The home in Newcomb cost $260,000, and will sell for $175,000. Two other CrossMod pilot projects are being announced in Syracuse and Schenectady. They have been built by Champion Homes, a manufactured housing company based in the town of Sangerfield in Oneida County.
Land bank plans more homes across county
Green said the Land Bank already has five lots across Essex County that are suitable for CrossMods, and more land will be available through foreclosures and property already owned by the county and towns.
“We’re very proud of [the Newcomb home], and looking forward to ramping up with this next round of funding and placing more homes,” Green said. “It’s nice to celebrate something really new and innovative.”