Ithaca Urban Renewal Agency (IURA)

The IURA works to improve the economic, social, and physical characteristics of the low-to-moderate-income neighborhoods in the City and is responsible for the following activities: (1) administration of City's HUD Entitlement Grant; (2) issuance of loans for affordable housing and job-creating businesses; (3) sale of land for public/private-partnership urban renewal projects; (4) management of Cherry Street Industrial Park; and (5) development of grant applications.

Mission Statement


The Ithaca Urban Renewal Agency secures and manages resources to improve the social, physical, and economic characteristics of the City of Ithaca by expanding access to quality affordable housing, strengthening neighborhoods and the local economy, and supporting other community development activities.

2018 HUD Entitlement Action Plan Process

HUD Entitlement Program
City of Ithaca 2018 Action Plan
Notice of Availability, Public Comment Period,
& Public Hearing Notice

The City of Ithaca Draft  2018 Action Plan is being made available for public comment until 3:00 p.m., May 31, 2018 at the following locations: IURA offices (3rd Floor, Ithaca City Hall, 108 E. Green St.) and the City Clerk’s Office (1st Floor, Ithaca City Hall, 108 E. Green St.). This draft plan describes the proposed use of Federal funds from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) for projects benefiting the City’s low- and moderate-income residents.

The Planning and Economic Development Committee of the Ithaca Common Council will hold a Public Hearing on the Draft Action Plan at 6:00 p.m., Wednesday, May 9, 2018, in Common Council Chambers, City Hall, 108 E. Green St., Ithaca, NY.  This is the second of two public hearings to gain public input on development of the City of Ithaca 2018 Draft Action Plan. Click on the following link for a summary list of all proposed activities:

City of Ithaca 2018 Draft Action Plan

This list includes the allocation of anticipated CDBG and HOME awards in the amounts of $634,000 and $261,000, respectively, and allocation of $432,554.50 from anticipated repayments of prior-year economic development loans and other funds.

COMMENTS: Written comments may be submitted to the City Clerk, 108 E. Green St., Ithaca, NY 14850, and must be received by 3:00 p.m., May 31, 2018. Contact the Ithaca Urban Renewal Agency at (607) 274-6553, if you have any questions.

ACCESSIBILITY: City Hall is fully accessible.  Persons needing special accommodation to review the Draft 2018 Action Plan or to fully participate at the Public Hearing should contact the IURA at 274-6565 or -6553 as soon as possible, or at least 72 hours prior to the Public Hearing or the end of the comment period (as applicable) for assistance.

2018 Action Plan Schedule

Click on the link above for a list of all the meetings (including applicant presentations to the IURA Board) associated with the 2018 Action Plan process.

Green Street Garage Redevelopment Proposal

The Ithaca Urban Renewal Agency (IURA) received a proposal (accessible via the link pasted further below, along with the original Request for Proposals) to redevelop the Green Street Parking Garage site for a project that increases housing choices and retains sufficient parking to meet current parking utilization, as well as additional parking demand created by the project. Other preferred uses include ground-level active uses on Green Street and a conference center. The IURA is authorized to negotiate the property sales price and the development program, subject to final City of Ithaca Common Council approval. The IURA seeks fair market value for the property, but expects deductions in consideration of community benefits provided by the project (e.g., below-market housing; reconstruction of public parking at developer’s expense). The proposal includes a development program, project concept, project budget, preliminary design, financing plan, and financial pro forma.

SPECIAL NOTE: At its April 26, 2018 meeting, the IURA Board voted to re-open the RFP process, with the following two associated deadlines.

PRE-APPLICATION DUE DATE: June 1, 2018 (3:00 PM, EST)
RFP APPLICATION DUE DATE: July 31, 2018 (3:00 PM, EST)

Please be sure to review the RFP and all other associated documents, in detail, at the following link: http://www.cityofithaca.org/bids.aspx?bidID=71.

Green Street Garage: McKinley Development Proposal (3/1/18)

Green St. Garage Redevelopment: IURA RFP

Policy Guidance Memo to RFP Applicants (5/9/18)

Assessment of Fair Housing

The Assessment of Fair Housing is available for review via the link below: 

http://www.cityofithaca.org/DocumentCenter/View/6952

You can also view the Assessment of Fair Housing Goal Summary Table via the following link:

http://www.cityofithaca.org/DocumentCenter/View/7134

Please contact the following person with any questions:

Anisa Mendizabal
Community Development Planner
AMendizabal@cityofithaca.org

WHAT IS THE ASSESSMENT OF FAIR HOUSING (AFH)?

The AFH is an updated approach to looking at the fair housing landscape in order to set locally determined fair housing priorities and goals (e.g., are Ithaca residents able to achieve their housing goals; have Ithaca residents ever been treated unfairly in regard to housing; what could improve Ithaca residents' housing situations).

Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing Data & Mapping Tool


The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's (HUD) Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing (AFFH) rule requires cities and towns receiving HUD funding to examine their housing patterns for evidence of housing discrimination. To facilitate this process, HUD created the Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing Data and Mapping Tool (AFFHT), a publicly accessible interactive web site for conducting the fair housing analyses required by AFFH. AFFHT is a public-facing application, so there are no user registration or access requirements. All users have the same basic permission to use the site. You can access the AFFHT by clicking on the following link:

https://egis.hud.gov/affht

Once you land on the AFFHT web site, you’ll see an introductory pop-up window, where you'll be asked to select the state and jurisdiction you’re looking for, and whether you want to view just that specific jurisdiction’s map, or a map of the entire region. You will then be taken to a subsequent screen where you'll be asked to select a type of map (e.g., "Race/Ethnicity," "Housing Choice Vouchers & Race/Ethnicity," "Demographics & Job Proximity, "Demographics & Environmental Health"). Once you find the type of map you're looking for, click on the "Go to Map" button located at the bottom-right of the application wizard. Depending on the type of map you select, you may then be asked to choose a specific data set for the map (e.g., "Race/Ethnicity Trends, 1990" or "Race/Ethnicity Trends, 2000"). For more detailed information about each map, including illustrated instructions on how to use the mapping tool, please refer to the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) User Guide at the following link: https://www.hudexchange.info/resources/documents/AFFH-Data-and-Mapping-Tool-User-Guide.pdf.

You can also click on the following link to go to a page containing tools, guidance, training, data/mapping, and other resources related to the Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing (AFFH) rule: https://www.hudexchange.info/programs/affh/resources/#tools-for-fair-housing-planning-under-the-affh-rule.

Assessment of Fair Housing (AFH) Data Tables

  1. AFH Data Table: Table 1 - Demographics (5/31/17)
  2. AFH Data Table: Table 2 - Demographic Trends (5/31/17)
  3. AFH Data Table: Table 3 - Racial/Ethnic Dissimilarity Trends (5/31/17)
  4. AFH Data Table: Table 4 - Racially/Ethnically Concentrated Areas of Poverty (RECAPs) (5/31/17)
  5. AFH Data Table: Table 5 - Publicly Supported Hsng. Units by Program Category (5/31/17)
  6. AFH Data Table: Table 6 - Publicly Supported Households by Race/Ethnicity (5/31/17)
  7. AFH Data Table: Table 7 - RECAP/Non-RECAP Demographics by Publicly Supported Hsng. Prg. (5/31/17)
  8. AFH Data Table: Table 8 - Demographics of Publicly Supported Hsng. Develpts. by Prgm. (5/31/17)
  9. AFH Data Table: Table 9 - Demographics of Households w. Disproportionate Housing Needs (5/31/17)
  10. AFH Data Table: Table 10 - Demographics of Households with Severe Housing Cost Burden (5/31/17)
  11. AFH Data Table: Table 11 - Publ. Supp. Hsng. by Prgrm. Cat. - Units by No. Bdrms.-Child. (5/31/17)
  12. AFH Data Table: Table 12 - Opportunity Indicators by Race/Ethnicity (5/31/17)
  13. AFH Data Table: Table 13 - Disability by Type (5/31/17)
  14. AFH Data Table: Table 14 - Disability by Age Group (5/31/17)
  15. AFH Data Table: Table 15 - Disability by Publicly Supported Housing Program Category (5/31/17)
  16. AFH Data Table: Table 16 - Homeownership/Rental Rates by Race/Ethnicity (5/31/17)