"Eight years ago, Omni Development Co. Inc. sensed a need for affordable housing and went about trying to fill it.  The Albany-based commercial real estate developer, one of the largest in the region, had plenty of experience building, designing and managing big buildings for a variety of clients.  But it recognized the demographics of the region were changing in a way that would demand more low-cost housing for senior citizens.  "Providing good, affordable senior housing is both good public policy and good economic policy," Omni President and Chief Operating Officer I. David Swawite once told local chamber of commerce officials.  Omni hired an expert in the field, J. Duncan Barrett, to carry out the mission.  Barrett spent 20 years in charge of Taconic Capital Corp., a firm that managed, built and acted as compliance officer for several housing projects in the region that serve low-income senior citizens, the homeless and others.  Those include the 44-unit Caldwell Apartments in Troy, the 28-unit Civill Senior Housing in Coeymans and the 140-unit Dudley Park Apartments in Albany.  Omni is currently redeveloping 206 more units, including 52 in Albany's South End, a neighborhood that has suffered for years from violent crime and neglect.  Omni has an interest in improving the neighborhood because it's near the company's commercial investments downtown.  On a personal level, the South End is close to Barrett's heart because it reminds him of sections of Troy where he worked in the early 1970s.  Under the $12 million plan, a rundown, 60-unit apartment building at Morton Avenue and Eagle Street will be converted into 42 units.  And, a 10-unit apartment complex will be built on a vacant parcel three blocks away.  The housing will be available to people who earn less than $27,840 for a single person and $39,780 for a family of four, which is less than 60 percent of the median household income in the region."  In 2007, Scott Allen of GAR Associates, Inc. completed a market study for Albany's South End project.

The Business Review
November 2007