Dozens of New Homes To Be Built In East Buffalo and Cheektowaga

The wheels of progress seem to be rolling in New York State's second-largest city after the announcement of a partnership between several government agencies that will lead to the creation of nearly 100 newly built homes in Buffalo and Cheektowaga.

It's been well-known for many years that Buffalo has had a massive deficit of affordable homes in the region. According to the City of Buffalo Affordable Housing Taskforce, the region will need thousands of new homes in order to keep up with demand in Buffalo. Considering that Buffalo continues to have one of the hottest housing markets in the country, that feat is becoming more difficult every single day.

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To help fill the gap, a partnership between the City of Buffalo, Town of Cheektowaga, Erie County, and the Buffalo Erie Niagara Land Improvement Corporation (BENLIC) has been created and will use more than $20 million from the federal American Rescue Plan to build at least 53 new homes, with an ultimate goal of 100 homes to be built when completed.

According to the Buffalo News, the ARP funds are being contributed by both the City of Buffalo and Erie County. Buffalo contributed $10 million, and the county contributed the remaining $13 million.

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All of the houses will be built on vacant properties owned by Buffalo and Cheektowaga. Of the first 53 homes constructed, 47 will be built on Buffalo's eastside, with the remaining five going up in Cheektowaga.

When constructed, the properties are designed to be able affordable for the average person in Buffalo and Cheektowaga. The homes will have income restrictions attached to who can buy them, with income levels being at or below 300% of the Federal Poverty Level. That means a family of four could make as much as 93,600 to qualify.

Like other income-based housing programs, there will be other restrictions in addition to the income levels; for example, home buyers will have to live in the properties for at least 10 years or face a penalty if they try to flip or sell them.

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If this program works as planned, officials will move to create additional properties, as officials would like to see as many as 100 new homes built.

This seems like a good use of the federal stimulus funds and should help improve the living conditions in Western New York.