The need for affordable housing in Tompkins County is about to be alleviated - slightly. The Overlook at West Hill has just opened doors to three of its apartment buildings in Phase I of its overall project (Phase I has 64 housing units, and Phase II - to begin construction soon, for an anticipated opening in late 2007 - has 64, as well). Combined, both phases of the Overlook represent an approximately $18 million venture, developed by The Arker Companies, The Domain Companies, LLC, and Ithaca Neighborhood Housing Services (INHS).

Despite the 128 affordable housing units (within 16 buildings) arriving soon in the area, Director of INHS Paul Mazzarella noted more affordable housing is still needed. According to a consultant's recent housing market study done with 2004 data, the entire Overlook project will only satisfy 4.8 percent of the affordable housing need in the county. Mazzarella explained that because Tompkins has a relatively good economy - and a community of college students that help bump up rental prices - affordable housing has always been greatly needed in Tompkins. Mazzarella estimated that there are currently about 1,500 units of affordable housing in the county.

The Overlook is being built in phases because of limits on tax-credits. The Low-Income Housing Tax Credit Program, a federal program established in 1984, encourages entities to invest in low-income housing by supplying tax credits for investments. CharterMac (a sub-group of Related Capital Company, from Manhattan) is the investor behind the project. CharterMac is one of the nation's largest apartment owners in the country, largely because it invests in so many tax-credit projects.

The Overlook will consist of two-story apartment buildings containing one- to three-bedroom apartments ranging in size from 800 to 1,210 square feet. The minimum rent will start at approximately $350 a month. Both Phases of the project will share a clubhouse and recreational space.

In terms of green building, the Overlook offers something new. It is the first housing complex to benefit from the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority's (NYSERDA) new Energy Star Multifamily Pilot program, which seeks to reduce energy use in affordable housing developments. For example, the Overlook uses tankless water heaters as part of its energy plans. Tankless water heaters only heat water when required, drastically reducing energy costs. Other environmentally-friendly initiatives at the Overlook include high efficiency furnaces, sensor controlled lighting and energy-saving windows. The first phase of Overlook alone qualified for $290,000 in federal incentives for its green building plan.

The units at Overlook will be occupied by tenants earning 60 percent or less of Tompkins County's median income. Mazzarella said the median income for one person in Tompkins is $43,312, while for a family of four it is $61,850.

Mazzarella said, ideally, people should not pay more than 30 percent of their salary toward rent. He added, "For all the renters in Tompkins earning less than $20,000 a year, 92 percent are paying more than 30 percent of their income for rent."

Despite the need for affordable housing in the area, the original proposal for the Overlook was far from an open and shut case. The Town of Ithaca's Planning Board rezoned the proposed site location from medium-density residential to multiple residence, allowing apartment development to happen. And when the Planning Board gave final site approval to the Overlook in April 2004, a two area residents brought a lawsuit against the town, claiming the town had not properly evaluated traffic, health and other impacts of the project. The suit was thrown out that August, and the Overlook received the full go-ahead.

Affordable housing on West Hill has developed strongly in the past year, with Linderman Creek (another affordable housing complex with more than a 100 units) also opening most of its doors.

Jonathan Kanter, director of the town's planning department, said West Hill is seeing these developments simply because it has significant amounts of undeveloped land. "East Hill is very developed," Kanter said, "and South Hill has some vacant land, but there has been considerable development there recently."

The Domain Companies, one of Overlook's developers, is based in Queens, N.Y., and is one of the main developers of in the New York City area. The Overlook is the organization's first development in the Ithaca area. Matthew Schwartz, principal of The Domain Companies, said, "We've were looking at Ithaca, and spent a lot of time trying to find the right site." Schwartz added that with Tompkins County's persistent need for more affordable housing, his organization would "absolutely" look into developing more properties in the area.

Overlook at West Hill is located on Trumansburg Rd. and Rt. 96, overlooking Cayuga Lake.