How the Lander Street Project Evolved into a Business Model

 

Lander Street was dwellstead’s start-up project in Newburgh and we were excited to see it underway.

 

dwellstead acquires properties for lease or sale but found that we could also build a business model helping others with the process.  It all started with Ana's property. In the case of Ana we helped Ana find a city-owned property that was attractively priced, had historic value, showed energy-saving opportunity as well as income potential. We helped Ana put together her offer, vetted four contractors and then worked with a consultant to approve the scope and cost of the work. Buying a vacant property from the city, obtaining an FHA construction loan and finding a contractor willing to accept the terms of the loan at times felt daunting for Ana, but she found out that it was indeed doable.

 

Forging relationships. With this project, dwellstead learned how to navigate buying a city-owned property in Newburgh including zoning laws, construction permits, and applying for historic and energy tax credits.  

 

Building a replicable business model to address a long-standing problem in Newburgh. One of the saddest things we see in Newburgh is the shoddy work performed on projects that were subsequently abandoned. It seems as if many people started projects thinking that since it was easy to buy a building on the cheap, that they could therefore get away with cutting corners and that the City wouldn’t pay attention to substandard work. They didn’t plan effectively and didn’t ensure that funding and work-plans were in place. They didn’t have the patience and endurance to stay the course when obstacles cropped up—as they inevitably did.

 

At the same time, many responsible people see the beauty and value in Newburgh but may feel overwhelmed by the process and don't know where to begin. Also, many of these old homes need a lot of work that most people don’t want to take on, or don't know how to.

 

In other words, although the housing stock in Newburgh presents a great opportunity, it also present challenges. This is why dwellstead was created: dwellstead puts the shine back into these diamonds responsibly, economically, and with style.

 

FEATURES

 

This building has two two-bedroom apartments, a studio and a store-front.

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​Amenities include:

• stainless steel kitchen appliances

• Hard wood floors

• A laundry room

• Walk-in closets

• Home office 

• 9 foot ceilings throughout

• wiring for cable TV, telephone and internet access

• a surveillance system

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Costs for these renovations came at approximately 195K.  That's $60 a square foot.

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