48 Hudson Tax Credit Offering is NOW LIVE!

We are pleased to announce that our tax credit offering for the restoration of the Van Ostrande-Radliff House is now live and accepting investment!

As many of you already know, HAF is raising the last part of the funding pie for the restoration through the NYS and Federal rehabilitation tax credits. We are hoping to raise $945,000.

By investing in the project, you receive NYS and Federal tax credits based on how much you are investing. The NYS credits are $.74 per dollar of tax credit and the Federal credits are $.84 per dollar.

While most projects have one major investor who purchases all of the credits, HAF is committed to making the tax credits available to anyone who is interested in being a part of saving 300 years of Albany history. To do this, we have set the minimum investment at $250. 

The tax credit sale will last until early 2024 or all of the credits are sold. The credits will be issued by NYS and the Federal government after the project is completed at the end of 2024. Investment in the project can only be made through an online platform called Common Owner, which is like a GoFundMe for tax credit projects. 

To invest or get more information on the offering, please see our listing page at commonowner.com/project/48-hudson

If you would like to speak to someone about the tax credits, the project, or have questions please contact Cara at 518-465-0876  ext. 112 or cmacri@historic-albany.org 

48 Hudson ReceivesHistoric Resources Commission Approval

As a local landmark, anything done to the exterior of the building must receive the approval of the City Albany Historic Resources Commission to get a Certificate of Appropriateness.  All of you historic property owners reading this are most likely nodding your head vigorously at this. 

On Thursday, May 11, a public hearing was held before the Historic Resources Commission where project architect, Matt Scheidt, and HAF Director of Preservation Services,  Cara Macri, presented the project. We are happy to share that the project was approved, bringing us one more step closer to construction this coming summer. 

If you are a bit nerdy, not only are you in good company, but you can find the full application here including a rendering and architectural drawings. 

Tax Credit Workshop Recording Available

We know the tax credits are complicated and not easy to take in quickly. We recorded our May 3rd info session so you can get more information at your leisure.  Watch the workshop here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dzGd36mhfac

When more questions come to mind, we're happy to answer them!  Call or email Cara at 518-465-0876 x112 or cmacri@historic-albany.org. 

HAF Receives $500,000 and $1,226,000 in NYS and Federal Grants for 48 Hudson

Historic Albany Foundation is pleased to announce that it has received two grants totalling $1.7 million dollars to restore the oldest house in Albany, the Van Ostrande-Radliff House (the oldest house in Albany) located at 48 Hudson Avenue in downtown Albany.

HAF has been awarded a $500,000 National Endowment for the Humanities Infrastructure and Capacity Building Challenge Grant. HAF was one of twenty-four recipients, just ten in New York State, who can leverage federal funds to spur non federal support for capital construction and renovation projects and physical and digital capacity-building at cultural institutions, including 48 Hudson Avenue.  HAF has already received the matching non federal funds through a previously announced $500,000 grant from the New York State Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation.  The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) is an independent federal agency created in 1965. It is one of the largest funders of humanities programs in the United States. NEH grants typically go to cultural institutions, such as museums, archives, libraries, colleges, universities, public television, and radio stations, and to individual scholars. 

In Addition, HAF has received a $1,226,000 grant through the New York State Council on the Arts Infrastructure and Capacity Building program.  NYSCA’s Capital Projects Fund focuses on supporting cultural institutions seeking state funding for investments in capital improvements that allow the organizations to sustain and expand cultural programming for diverse audiences, promote accessibility and environmental sustainability, preserve and create jobs, and ultimately contribute to the growth of New York’s arts and tourism sectors. HAF was eligible to apply for these funds as a recipient of NYSCA’s annual general operating support.

Board president Matt Malette stated, “I am so very pleased that Historic Albany Foundation has received a $500,000 grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) but also a $1,226,000 grant from the New York State Council on the Arts (NYSCA) to aid in the restoration of 48 Hudson Avenue, the oldest remaining building in the city of Albany. Knowing how incredibly difficult it is to win, not one, but both of these grants shows a great amount of dedication and determination from members of our staff and board that I'll be forever thankful for. It also sends an incredible vote of confidence from both the state and federal levels of government that they believe that this urban jewel is also worth saving. We are beyond honored and humbled to be able to continue one of the largest projects in Historic Albany's near-50-year history”

Archaeology Begins! ... in the basement

Why are we doing archaeology INSIDE you ask? To make the building fully accessible to all, we are putting an elevator and staircase on the east side of the large brick addition. This will require us to dig out a small portion of that addition's basement. This area is outside the footprint of the 1728 house and may have archaeological deposits dating to the house's earliest years or even before. We are also adding some additional structural supports for the west wall of the 1728 house.  This means we will be putting footings near the original kitchen hearth in the house's basement. 

So, to learn as much as we can about the house's earliest occupants, Hartgen Archeological Associates is trenching a portion of the basement in the addition and the 1728 house. They were there early this week getting set up and doing the initial trenching. The trench filled pretty quickly with water, but it is already yielding some interesting information. Hiding beneath the concrete and a layer of dirt is a brick floor and inlet pipe for..... something, presumably water or gas. There is also a deeper depression closer to the house. We can't wait to see what this feature yields! 

Excavation will continue in a few weeks after the trenches have had some time to drain. 

Keep an eye out for lectures and tours on the dig after work is completed!

Tax Credit Soft Launch

Part of the funding pie for the House's restoration includes the sale of roughly $950,000 of Federal and New York State tax credits through the Historic Rehabilitation Tax Credit program. These credits are a critical part of many large-scale rehabilitation projects and are used by mostly for-profit developers. As a not-for-profit, HAF cannot use the credits ourselves, but we can sell the credits to others who can. We are using a crowdfunding approach to our tax credits which will give the community a chance to be involved in the project.

Last Thursday, we held our first invite-only workshop and are now putting the information out to the public. The workshop explained how individuals with an annual income of less than $250,000, real estate professionals, and corporations can invest in the project to receive the tax credits. We were happy to welcome our consultants Will Bradshaw from Reimagine Fund in New Orleans, Rich Rogers from Yots Law, and Jake Walsh from Common Owner, both out of Buffalo. We had a lovely audience of about 40 individuals who have supported 48 Hudson with lots of good questions and interest. All of the questions and feedback generated will go on the Common Owner portal here: commonowner.com/project/48-hudson

Right now we are "testing the waters" and gathering interest while we finalize the last few details of the offering. As we get closer to the full launch in the spring we will be scheduling more workshops to introduce the topic and how the tax credits work. The offering site is up now for anyone to peruse.

We will also be resuming our First Friday tours on March 3rd where we will talk more about the tax credits. Please do reach out to Cara at cmacri@historic-albany.org with questions or interest!