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Updated
July 8, 2006
Reprinted from the Times Union, June 8, 2006
Creating a rental gem in Albany's South End
Brothers see a future for market apartments in
Morton Avenue projectBy BRIAN NEARING, Staff writer
First published: Thursday, June 8 , 2006ALBANY -- A young physician is betting on the improving health of a South End neighborhood where more than a few buildings show outward signs of years of neglect.
Dr. Eric Moses, a 33-year-old anesthesia resident at Albany Medical Center Hospital, renovated a vacant, fire-damaged apartment house at 142 Morton Ave. this spring into 13 studio and one-bedroom apartments that he hopes will rent for up to $875 a month.
That's a pretty penny for a neighborhood where the median monthly rent was just $416 and about a third of the residents had incomes at or below the federal poverty level, according to the 2000 U.S. Census. Street crime and drug dealing remain a problem.
But Moses, along with his brother, Michael, an engineer in Boulder, Colo., believe the neighborhood is poised for a turnaround, and that more affluent tenants will be willing to live there.
"I think we will be able to attract graduate students, single young professionals, some people who work in the Legislature," Eric Moses said during a ribbon-cutting ceremony Wednesday attended by Mayor Jerry Jennings. The apartments have high-speed Internet access and a closed-circuit security system.
Moses pointed to the three-story building's location across from Lincoln Park and the city's plans to rebuild the city-owned Lincoln Square high-rise project just a block east down Morton Avenue. "It's a great view here and the park is always going to be there," he said.
That vision drew financial support from the Community Preservation Corp., a group of banks and insurance companies that invests in affordable housing. CPC backed the venture with a $380,000, 30-year loan because it wants more housing choices in the area, said Chris Betts, acting director.
"We have done a lot of rehabilitation projects in the city. This building was in very bad shape," Betts said, adding that Moses can charge market-rate rents because no government subsidy was used in the loan.
MAE Properties, a limited liability corporation set up by the brothers, purchased the property in September 2005 for $223,000, according to real estate records from the state Office of Real Property Services.
At that time, a fire in a second-floor apartment damaged the roof. Water had seeped into the building, fueling an outbreak of mold. After the fire, all the apartments were vacant.
The building, constructed in 1895 by a Albany brick-making family, was gutted down to the walls, general contractor John P. Peat said.
"This is the type of investment that we want in the South End," Jennings said. "It is beneficial to the whole city. It can be tough to get people to invest in this kind of property."
Brian Nearing can be reached at 454-5094 or by e-mail at bnearing@timesunion.com.
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