Multi-Million Dollar Binghamton Neighborhood Renovation

$11 million is to be spent rehabilitating properties in a troubled Binghamton neighborhood.

City officials say 11 properties on Crandall Street and one on North Street, many of them vacant homes will be turned into 40 affordable housing units.

The North Street property, which  had been slated for demolition, is a historic home built in the 1870s, known as the Sturtevant House.

Construction is to begin in the fall.

The project is supported by New York State Homes and Community Renewal with tax credits.  $5.3 million in private funding, $100,000 from the City of Binghamton and $170,000 in rehabilitation funds from the Broome County Land Bank are also committed to the rehabilitation.

Officials say the work is expected to help stabilize the area that has seen 1,479 police responses since 2012 on Crandall Street.  The City says the neighborhood historically has been the scene of narcotics activity and violent incidents.

The First Ward Action Council is taking ownership of the properties for the project.  The group manages 177 units of affordable housing in the City.