Mount Airy Woods

12 Rental Apartment Units

Developed 1991-1994

Mount Airy Woods is a complex of three buildings fronting on Mount Airy Road, each having two 1-bedroom, one 2-bedroom and one 3-bedroom apartments. The venture came about when life-long residents and developers Richard and Eugene Albert gave eight acres of land to the Croton Housing Network as part of the site plan agreement for the River Landing development, a group of homes off Upper North Highland Place.

The parcel posed many challenges: the land was mostly a steep slope, with limited street access, necessitating a search for more funds and construction of a massive retaining wall at the entrance. There was an endless supply of rock to deal with, and the contractor went bankrupt halfway through construction. For a group of volunteers, it was a daunting effort! Nonetheless, with the help of dedicated professionals at the Housing Action Council and the Westchester County Department of Planning, 12 tenants moved in to their new homes in the summer of 1995. Ten of the original 12 were from Croton.

Funding for the project came from the Federal HOME program, Westchester County Housing Infrastructure Funds, and a Westchester County Community Development Block Grant. These sources imposed income limits on various units for 20 years - some at 50 percent, some at 60 percent and some at 80 percent of median income in Westchester County.

The restrictive covenants limiting income have now expired, but CHN has determined to keep Mount Airy Woods affordable. As such there are still some restrictions on residency at Mount Airy Woods:

Tenant income is limited to to 50, 60 or 80 percent of median Westchester income, depending on the unit.

Minimum income is set to ensure that residents can afford the rent, which should not exceed 30 percent of gross annual income. Exceptions can be made in cases where a friend or relative agrees to supplement the resident's income or where there is a Section 8 voucher.

There are no restrictions on age, but the number of bedrooms must be appropriate to the size of the family.

Rents are not to exceed the County High HOME limits; these depend on family size and ranged from $1,669 to $2,427 per month in 2023.