Now a charitable not-for-profit organization, Trillium's next step is to pilot a permanently affordable housing development in Columbia County. To help Trillium select its first projects, Trillium worked with non-profit developer Hudson River Housing to create a process for evaluating the feasibility of developing various sites.
Trillium selected Hudson River Housing to develop this process and toolkit because of their experience in developing affordable housing in the Hudson Valley, their expertise in smaller-scale development, and their mission-driven work. This work was funded by a Fund for Columbia County grant from the Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation.
The site feasibility process Trillium and Hudson River Housing developed begins with considering how the potential projects fits the core values, mission, and goals of Trillium. Next, site conditions are evaluated, such as environmental conditions, access to utilities, zoning, easements, etc. With that information, the financial viability of different development models can be computed. Finally, potential sites can be compared for their development potential, financial viability, and adherence to Trillium's mission.
Trillium will be wrapping up this feasibility process this winter and hopes to select a pilot project in early 2025 to be one step closer to creating permanently affordable housing options.
