by Lindsay Jones. 12/11/2025
The Vacant Rental program aims to give residents more long-term rental options
TICONDEROGA, N.Y. —
A new initiative is helping to develop long-term rentals and affordable housing units in Essex County, New York. A unit in Ticonderoga became the first finished apartment from the North Country Vacant Rental program.
Vacant Rental, a state-funded program led by North Country Rural Development, is transforming vacant properties into affordable housing. They recently finished upgrades on their first unit at 8 Calkins Place in Ticonderoga and held a ribbon-cutting event Thursday to celebrate the milestone.
The group was awarded a grant for the program back in January, started work in September, and wrapped up just a few weeks ago.
“To be able to come here and kind of see the progression over time and then see it finished is really amazing, ” said Hope Carroll, a manager behind the program.
Carroll said that Ticonderoga has a lot of vacation rentals available to people visiting Lake George which can make finding a place challenging for residents looking for long-term options.
She said she’s hoping these revamped rentals can help improve housing access across Essex, Warren and Washington counties.
“To provide that affordable housing in this area is really, really important,” she said.
To keep the units affordable and open for working people, there will be rent caps enforced and short-term rentals will not be allowed. However, making the buildings move-in ready took a lot of work. In the Ticonderoga unit, Carroll said she had to redo a set of unsafe stairs. They also added energy-efficient elements including heat pumps.
Property owners Whitney Huestis and Garrett Lee were grateful to the programs help in turning the empty apartment into a home.
“That was not something that we necessarily could have taken care of all on our own. So, the help from NCRD has been great. So now we’re happy that we can provide safe and affordable housing,” Huestis said.
The North Country Rural Development currently has nine more projects in the works. They said it is just the beginning of creating more long-term, affordable housing in North Country.