OBSERVER Photo by Braden Carmen Josh Freifeld, Executive Director of Chautauqua Home Rehabilitation and Improvement Corporation, spoke at a recent Hanover Town Board meeting of his program’s progress with a state grant to support home improvements throughout the region.

HANOVER — The Town of Hanover’s Community Development Block Grant in the amount of $492,500 has been applied to eight single-family homes in need of rehabilitation throughout the region.

Josh Freifeld, Executive Director of Chautauqua Home Rehabilitation and Improvement Corporation (CHRIC), spoke at a recent Hanover Town Board meeting to discuss the progress of home improvements to eight residences, located on eight different roads throughout Hanover, Silver Creek, Forestville, and Irving.

The grant is administered by CHRIC on behalf of the town, through the New York State Office of Community Renewal, which provides resources with the principal purpose of benefiting people with low/moderate income. The upgrades are intended to make homes code-compliant.

“For our program, we address roofs, siding, porches, windows – anything that could be a safety hazard at the home,” Freifeld said. “Electrical, plumbing issues … insulation can be a part of that, as well.”

The “hard cost” associated for each project ranged from $24,965 for a home located on Old Main Road, to as high as $73,950 for a residence located on W. Spears Road. The oldest home to receive assistance, on Hanover Road, was built in 1890. Only two of the eight homes receiving assistance were built within the last 80 years.

According to Freifeld, of the eight homes selected to receive assistance, four were senior-led households; four were disabled-led households; and four had female head of households. Two of the eight households to receive funding were below 30% median income of the county based on household size; two were between 30-50% median income; and the remaining four households were between 50-80% median income.

The grant was extended from its original completion deadline in June through the end of 2023 due to a death at CHRIC that led to setbacks. However, CHRIC managed to finish out its work by the end of September.

The eight homes combined for a total cost of $449,740 worth of improvements, including assessments for led and asbestos. Once additional costs of program delivery and administration were factored in, the total cost was $492,500, with no charge to any of the clients receiving assistance.

The program received a great deal of interest from residents in the area, which led to a substantial waiting list for assistance if more funding is received from the state. Freifeld stated CHRIC is “certainly” interested in pursuing additional funding on behalf of the town. CHRIC also completed similar improvement projects in Cherry Creek and Sherman this past year.

“We have the capacity to assist our communities. We want to be able to do that when we can,” Freifeld said.