What is Albany's Affordable & Inclusionary Housing program?

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Let’s look at the data from the Department of Planning & Development report.  The report contains a list of all multi dwelling unit (MDU) housing that is impacted by the Inclusionary Housing requirement between January 2018 and February 2024.  The report lists out:

• The project street address
• The date of the original plan submission
• The total number of housing units
• The number of affordable units required by the Unified Sustainable Development Ordinance (USDO)
• If the development is being funded through the Low Income Housing Tax Credit program.  All units included in these projects are required to be made affordable
• The project status as of May 2024

We can aggregate the projects, using all of the data except for the two “Expired” projects.  If and when the remaining 26 projects are all completed, this would add:

• 2476 total housing units
• 524 housing units developed from the Low Income Housing Tax Credit Program
• 108 housing units developed from the Inclusionary Housing provisions
• 632 total low income housing units

For perspective, the 2020 US Census showed that Albany had 48,031 total housing units and 42,158 occupied housing units.  If we look at the growth rate in housing driven exclusively through multi dwelling unit (MDU) housing by the 26 projects above we can see that the new MDU housing for the 26 projects grows the City of Albany’s Total Housing Unit count by over 5% if all projects are completed.   

We created a map to view where the projects are located - https://www.google.com/maps/d/edit?mid=1945Bm7Ahfcrtq-M79LYKJ9GlNrHT8Vo&usp=sharing

Each housing development is shown on the map with a red house icon.  If you click on each location you can see the address, total units, affordable unit requirements, whether or not the development falls under the Low Income Housing Tax Credit program and the project status.  

We can use data and analysis from Grounded Solutions Network and their Inclusionary Housing analysis.  Their academic publication is here.

• There are over 1000 Inclusionary Housing programs nationwide
• New York has the 4th most programs by state, 44, behind NJ, MA and CA
• There are no other Capital District communities that have an Inclusionary Housing program
• Grounded Solutions suggests “Most inclusionary units are targeted to households earning 50–120% of AMI (area median income)”.  Albany’s program targets 60%.  Further research should explore Albany’s AMI vs. the median AMI of other programs nationwide.  

When the 2025 Unified Sustainable Development Ordinance: Annual Report is available we will integrate the updated data.

Questions or comments?  Drop us an email at AlbanyDataStories@gmail.com