Otter Way Project
LAKE PLACID—Thanks to generous donors and the efforts of affordable housing advocates, at least one new home in the village is being built with a moderate-income family in mind.
The Adirondack Community Housing Trust, in coordination with the Housing Assistance Program of Essex County (HAPEC) plans to move a donated modular home from the outskirts of Lake Placid and erect it in the Otter Landing development within the village. This summer, a contractor is breaking the structure down into two large sections for transport, along with its attached 2-car garage.
The three-bedroom home has two bathrooms and should be ideal for a family. Reassembly and other work at the site is expected to take several months to complete.
Steve Sama, a cabinetmaker and carpenter who moved to Lake Placid from Long Island in 2014, is serving as construction manager for the project. Sama is also a volunteer with Ausable Valley Habitat for Humanity, a local volunteer organization committed to affordable housing.
“Everyone deserves to have a good, safe, affordable place to live to raise their kids,” Sama said.
The lot where the home will be erected was generously donated by Otter Way’s developer, Moongate Partnership. An adjoining lot may eventually be the site of another affordable home built by Habitat for Humanity. The house is being donated by part-time Lake Placid residents, John and Lila Huwiler.
Lake Placid asks developers to set aside one lot in every ten for affordable housing. HAPEC hopes the Otter Way project may inspire other developers to consider the model as a way to boost the stock of homes priced for buyers who work in the village but who can’t afford to live there.
“We’re grateful for the donations that made this project possible,” said HAPEC Executive Director Bruce Misarski. He noted that this project is one of many potential models for addressing housing affordability. HAPEC is an advocate for rural housing and community preservation across the North Country.
The Adirondack Community Housing Trust provides a means of financing homes to keep them “forever affordable” and plays an active role in supporting affordable housing in the North Country.
