Inflation, rising rents, and stagnant wages have left municipalities across the country struggling to address a persistent shortage of affordable housing.
Few places have felt that pressure more acutely than Shandaken, where limited buildable land, an aging population, and a lack of multifamily housing have left officials scrambling for solutions.
Two prospective projects could help ease the crisis. The newly formed nonprofit Catskills Alliance for Housing and Preservation is in the early stages of trying to purchase the 19-unit Skyrise Apartments in Phoenicia, while the Town of Shandaken has renewed discussions with the Onteora School District about acquiring the former Phoenicia Elementary School and converting it into affordable housing.
Deputy Supervisor Robert Drake said town officials will continue talks with Onteora School Board members and Superintendent Victoria McLaren later this month. In August, the Town Board voted to pay a symbolic $1 to purchase the school, which was shuttered in spring 2024 because of declining enrollment. Drake described the ongoing discussions as “optimistic.”
Vickie Starr, the founder and board chair of Catskills Alliance for Housing and Preservation, said her organization learned the Skyrise Apartments were on the market in late summer or early fall of 2025. She said she immediately worried that one of the town’s few affordable rental options could be purchased by an investor who would sharply increase rents, prompting the Alliance’s bid to acquire the property.
“There is a severe housing shortage in Shandaken, but not a lot of buildable land,” Starr said. “There are also not a lot of multifamily buildings.”
Starr said she has worked with Realtor Deb Dolan and private building inspector Phil Mones while engaging local, county and state officials about securing funding. The Alliance has also held discussions with other nonprofit housing organizations, including RUPCO, about potential partnerships. In February of last year, RUPCO aided a grassroots effort to convert the former Wellington Hotel in Pine Hill into a hub that offered affordable housing, a grocery store and a cafe. Construction on that project is expected to begin in March.
With the Skyrise, Starr said she hopes to avoid a repeat of what occurred during the pandemic, when a hot real estate market led to properties being purchased and rents raised.
“We fear the same thing would happen here and have families who live there get evicted or priced out,” Starr said.
The 19-unit apartment complex sits on 8.5 acres on Mount Ava Maria Drive in Phoenicia and includes apartments ranging from studios to three bedrooms. It is listed for $1.9 million. Starr said the current owners, the Winchell family, have kept rents affordable for years. Bruce Winchell owned the complex for more than 50 years before his death in 2020. The highest rent at Skyrise is $1,300, which falls within most measures of affordability for the area.
According to the most recent data, average monthly rent in Shandaken ranges from $800 for a studio to $2,125 for a three-bedroom apartment. Those figures pose challenges for a community where 19.1% of residents — 1.3% higher than the rest of Ulster County — live below the poverty line, and where the median annual income of $62,845 trails the county median of $81,804.
Starr said the Catskills Alliance for Housing and Preservation is working to complete an appraisal and continue conversations with public agencies and potential private funders. But she cautioned that limited funds in the organization’s early stages, combined with a grant landscape that often favors projects with 50 or more units, makes the effort a “long shot.”
“This is workers’ housing. This is what we are talking about,” Starr said. “We are an example of something that is happening to every rural community in the country. Our bid is kind of a Hail Mary, but we felt we had to explore some ideas.”
Town Board member Kyle Steen grew up in the Skyrise Apartments, and his parents still live there. He said the property “still feels like home,” recalling a childhood in which neighbors looked out for one another. Utilities were included in the rent, and families felt they could “live there forever.” Losing those units, he said, would have devastating consequences.
“I know my parents would be among many who would have to relocate, depending on how much the rent went up,” Steen said. His father works for the town’s Highway Department, and his mother previously worked as a bartender at The Phoenician when it was known as Al’s Restaurant. “These are people that have raised families that have grown up here and are working right in town. They are the bones of the community.”
Steen said it is not an exaggeration to say a severe rent increase could damage local businesses and put Phoenicia in “peril.”
“It might sound dramatic to some, but that might be a good word to use,” Steen said. “Employees from the Nest Egg, The Country Store, and Brios all reside there. Where are they gonna live? It’s hard enough for these businesses to find employees.”
“It’s all sentimental,” Steen continued. “But if I had the money, I would buy it and keep it the way it is. I would do it in a heartbeat. It means that much to me. It is so much more than a cash cow.”
Jim Rich is a senior reporter for The Overlook. You can reach him at jim@theoverlooknews.com.