Applications for Trumansburg’s Village Grove development now open

Prospective residents of the in-development apartment complex Village Grove in Trumansburg can now apply to rent one of the new building’s units.

Applications submitted before Sept. 23, the deadline for submissions, will be entered into a lottery to rent one of the following apartments or townhomes at 46 South St. Rents on these properties vary, depending on subsidy eligibility determined by Ithaca Neighborhood Housing Services (INHS), the developer and housing manager at the property:

• Two three-bedroom, one-and-a-half-bath townhomes, with rent varying from $1,260 to $1,695. Area: 1193 square feet.
• Four three-bedroom, one-and-a-half-bath townhomes, with rent varying from $1,050 to $1,695. Area: 1187 square feet.
• Two three-bedroom, one-and-a-half-bath apartments, with rent ranging from $1,075 to $1,290. Area: 1163 square feet.
• Fourteen two-bedroom, one-bathroom apartments. Rents go from $925 to $1,495. Area: 960 square feet.
• Twenty four one-bedroom, one-bathroom apartments. Rents go from $775 to $1,250. Area: 733 square feet.

All of these units qualify under the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s housing choice voucher program, also known as Section 8, which assists low-income families, older adults and people with disabilities in finding safe and stable housing.

The Village Grove development, projected to be the village of Trumansburg’s largest and greenest affordable housing project, broke ground last December on a portion of a 19-acre lot of undeveloped land at 46 South St.

The $27 million project is meant to bring 10 affordable rental townhomes or duplexes, as well as 46 affordable apartments in a two-story building and nine lots at a market-rate price that could likely house 17 apartments, to the south side of the village by the end of the year. 

The goal of the project, INHS officials state on their website, is to create an intergenerational, mixed-income community where seniors can age in place and young families can purchase homes in the very competitive local housing market.

The project will also include a new, stand-alone commercial building that will host the Trumansburg Community Nursery School, expanding childcare options in the area.

Village Grove will be an all-electric development, utilizing both ground-source and air-source heat pumps, as well as energy generated by an off-site community solar facility.

Trumansburg Village Board Trustee Ben Darfler said that Village Grove is a thrilling development, encouraging interested residents to apply for a rental unit there.

“This is a critical development for our community as we face high housing prices, a challenge that affects all of Tompkins County,” Darfler said.

The latest housing report from Tompkins County, dubbed the annual “Housing Snapshot,” indicates that rent levels in Tompkins County greatly exceed those in neighboring counties. The median rent  for a one-bedroom unit in the county stood at $1,234 in 2022. This figure is more than 50% higher than in any neighboring county. Rent levels for a one-bedroom unit increased by an average of 3.5% a year from 2012 to 2022, with higher increases for larger unit types and the rate of increase accelerating in the second half of the 10-year period, the report states.

Most renters in the county are struggling to pay their rent. Over half of renters in the county are considered housing cost burdened, defined as spending more than 30% of income on housing costs. The percentage of renter households that are severely housing cost burdened, meaning that they spend more than half of their income on housing, has risen significantly over the past decade to almost 38% of renter households.

“The median household income in Tompkins County can no longer afford the median house cost, which makes developments like Village Grove even more essential,” Darfler said. “Village Grove isn’t just about providing housing; it’s about ensuring that Trumansburg remains an inclusive and vibrant community.”

Darfler noted that affordable housing will be a key solution to county issues going forward. 

“Affordable housing options like these are essential for supporting our residents and promoting economic diversity,” Darfler said. “I strongly encourage anyone eligible to apply for rental housing at Village Grove. This project reflects our commitment to a sustainable and accessible future for all in Trumansburg, and I’m excited to see how this development will positively impact our community.”

Information on the application can be found here:

https://mailchi.mp/ithacanhs/villagegrovenl2.

The application itself is posted here:

https://www.ithacanhs.org/wp-content/uploads/10-Application-VG-English-20220079-VG-rev-4.29.24.pdf.

The lottery will take place Oct. 7 at 3 p.m. and can be viewed at 

https://www.facebook.com/ithacanhs.

Ulysses Connection appears every week in Tompkins Weekly. Send story ideas to editorial@vizellamedia.com. Contact Eddie Velazquez at edvel37@gmail.com or on X (formerly Twitter) @ezvelazquez.

In brief:

The Ulysses Philomathic Library will host “Fire in our Forest,” a workshop on intentional forest fires, Aug. 10 at 10:30 a.m. 

“Come learn about fire adaptation in your [Finger Lakes] National Forest with wildlife biologists, ecologists and wildland firefighters!” reads a notice on the library’s website. 

The event is best suited for early elementary school-aged children. They will learn about controlled forest fires and how they can enhance wildlands and pollinator habitats.