Story 16: Bringing Affordable Housing to Rural Seneca County
INHS’s first development in Seneca County, Pine View Circle, was completed in 2018 with a budget of $15 million. Pine View Circle is located in the quiet, rural town of Tyre, an easy commute from Waterloo, Seneca Falls, and Auburn, and includes 48 apartment units spread across 12 buildings.
The affordable apartments are a mixture of one-, two-, and three-bedroom townhouses and single-story accessible units, all of which have been built to LEED standards with high efficiency gas heating, central air conditioning, and Energy Star appliances. Additionally, the development includes a community room for resident use and storage units connected to each apartment.
With rental rates determined based on family income, Pine View Circle is an exemplary model of how affordable and accessible housing can be, even in small communities. Four of the apartments are reserved for veterans with a disability and four are reserved for individuals with a developmental disability who are clients of the ARC of Seneca and Cayuga Counties.
Scott, one of Pine View’s Circle’s first residents and an ARC referral, has become a fixture of the development and regularly sets up gaming events with other residents in the community room. “INHS is priceless. It isn’t just housing,” said Scott. “It’s a community. It’s arguably an extended family.”
