RISE would like to thank everyone involved with the Development of Dominic Hollow. We’d also like to thank everyone who attended and spoke at our ribbon cutting ceremony, held on Thursday, May 11, 2023, in celebration of Dominic Hollow’s official opening!
“It wasn’t that long ago that we were here throwing ceremonial dirt to signify the start of this project. We’ve watched it grow each step of the way. And now welcoming our residents, is truly an amazing feat,” said Sybil Newell, RISE Executive Director in her welcoming remarks.
“Saratoga County’s economy has been strong and growing for over five decades now because we’ve made smart investments in infrastructure and things that we needed to bring more people here, create more economic opportunity, today that challenge is – the number one – is housing,” said Todd Shimkus, President of Saratoga County Chamber of Commerce and emcee of the ribbon cutting celebration.
“We want more people to be able to live and work in Saratoga County and this project here today represents a big step forward in making that possible,” Todd continued.
“We could not have done any of this without the support of the agencies and government officials represented at the ceremony,” Sybil Newell said in gratitude.
First and foremost, our New York state partners Homes and Community Renewal and the Office of Mental Health as well as our investors Richman Housing, The Community Preservation Corporation and the local financial institutions who are so dedicated to funding affordable and supportive housing.
Thank you to our elected officials, Marybeth Walsh, represented by Stacie Agostino, and Eric Connolly for helping us get this project approved and across the finish line. We also thank Senator Jim Tedisco for his support. And we thank Governor Kathy Hochul represented by Isabel Bazaldua from the Office of Mental Health.
Thank you to our development consulting firm, CSD Housing, LLC, represented by Keri Curtis. They have our eternal thanks for showing RISE the ropes. Dominic Hollow is the first housing development that RISE has undertaken, and we wouldn’t have even known where to begin without CSD walking us through the process and being there to guide the project every step of the way.
And thank you to our development team: Christa Construction, Reform Architecture, Sustainable Comfort and Lansing Engineering, represented by Nick Hinman, for creating this beautiful building.
RISE also thanks Kendra Farstad, a local artist who created the murals you see throughout the building. The only instruction we gave her was to create something beautiful and inspiring for our residents, and as you can see, she delivered!
And finally, a huge thank you to RISE staff and board members who put countless hours into this project to make it a reality.
“It has been such a pleasure to hand sets of keys to new residents knowing that we are providing them not only with an affordable place to live, but a safe, secure and beautiful place to live,” said Sybil Newell. “The housing market in Saratoga County is – challenging to say the least – and I can tell you that despite efforts to bring more affordable housing to the County, there is still a huge need to be filled.”
Half of the apartments at Dominic Hollow are supportive apartments for people who, for various reasons, have had difficulty managing to stay stable in the community without support.
On our first move-in day in the beginning of April, we had nine individuals move directly from the Code Blue Shelter into their own apartments at Dominic Hollow. These individuals had had a VERY hard winter. They had almost nothing when they moved in and many of them were struggling just to get through each day. As a whole, the agency has absolutely inspired by the progress many of these individuals have made in their lives in the literally ONE month they have had a roof of their own over their heads.
Dominic Hollow is proof that the Housing First model works. When you provide affordable, safe, accessible, and supportive housing, it allows people the security and stability to make improvements in so many other areas of their lives.