PRESS RELEASE Contact: Mike Jacobson, Executive Director Capital District Habitat for Humanity Ph: (518) 462-2993

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE March 23, 2012

ALBANYS SHERIDAN HOLLOW NEIGHBORHOOD TO GET A TRANSFORMATIVE BOOST Public Invited to Kick-off Planning Meeting
Albany, NY Capital District Habitat for Humanity, the Touhey Home Ownership Foundation, the City of Albany, 3tarchitects, ITT Technical Institute and Housing Visions, Inc., invite community stakeholders to attend the Sheridan Hollow Charrette on April 2-5, 2012, at The Hampton Inn in downtown Albany. This groundbreaking partnership between public, private and non-profit stakeholders will be instrumental in WHAT: effecting real neighborhood revitalization that meets Sheridan Hollow Charrette the needs of the community, and is sustainable, DATE/TIME: equitable and forward-thinking. Monday, April 2 Thursday, April 5, 2012 A charrette is a multi-day collaborative planning Kick-Off Meeting April 2 at 6:30pm event that engages all affected parties to create and Open to the public 1-8pm each day support a feasible plan that represents transformative community change. LOCATION: The Hampton Inn 25 Chapel Street, Albany The goal of a charrette is to identify the priorities for a community redevelopment project, create practical designs that address these priorities, incorporate feedback from local residents, and serve as a kick-off for the project. This planning session will help create strategies for eliminating blight and promoting re-investment in an important and historically significant Albany neighborhood. In order to encourage as much community participation and input as possible, the charrette will be open to the public each day, with several specific public meetings focusing on transportation,

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housing, sustainability/environment, urban design/historic preservation, economic development, and parks and recreation. This grassroots, proven approach to community development will deliver a plan that is supported and celebrated by all stakeholders and can be implemented in a short time period, stated Mike Jacobson, Executive Director, Habitat for Humanity. Students and faculty from ITT Technical Institute School of Drafting and Design, the Sage Colleges Interior Design program, and the University at Albanys Department of Planning & Geography Design Studio will support the charrette development team. The design charrette will also engage key stakeholders, including community members, planners, architects, transportation, environmental and housing experts, economists, government and law enforcement officials. We are honored to be working with this dedicated, collaborative team as we look to develop functional designswhile keeping an eye with the areas significant historythat will transform the Sheridan Hollow area, stated Scott Townsend, Founder and Principal of 3tarchitects. The Sheridan Hollow Charrette Team has assembled more than forty properties in a tight geographic footprint within Sheridan Hollow. While these properties will be the basis for the projects Phase One focus, the charrette will cover all of Sheridan Hollows development phases. The Sheridan Hollow neighborhood is a gateway to the Citys downtown core, an entrance to New York State government offices, and contiguous to the busy commercial and residential corridor of Clinton Avenue.
The Sheridan Hollow Charrette Team is a partnership between public, private and non-profit stakeholders with an interest in grassroots revitalization in Albanys Sheridan Hollow neighborhood. The charrette development team is led by Capital District Habitat for Humanity, the Touhey Home Ownership Foundation, the City of Albany, 3tarchitects, and Housing Visions, Inc., with support from Northco, ITT Technical Institute School of Drafting and Design, the Sage Colleges Interior Design program, and the University at Albanys Department of Planning & Geography Design Studio. For more information, please visit www.capitaldistricthabitat.org.

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