A New Foundation: Habitat for Humanity is Building Something Big Outside Hudson

Pictured: A digital rendering of the multi-unit communities Columbia-Green Habitat for Humanity plans to build around the region.

The handsome building at 3521 Route 9 in Livingston has been a lot of things. Al Bellenchia, CEO of Columbia-Greene Habitat for Humanity (CGHFH), remembers there being a farm store here when he moved to Columbia County 24 years ago. Before CGHFH, and it’s popular ReStore moved in last November, it was a steakhouse and before that it was originally built as the first building of a huge Baseball Camp complex that struck out. 

Now, with habitat settled in, the space finally feels like a home base where something impactful can be built. On Saturday, May 2, CGHFH is throwing the doors open with "Building on Our Foundation," a community event running from 11am to 2 pm at the new headquarters. There will be model home tours, a ReStore showcase, updates on building plans, and at 1pm, the inaugural Community Builders Award ceremony recognizing the partners who made the move possible. 

This year's honorees include NY State Assemblymember Didi Barrett, local contracting supplier Ed Herrington, former Columbia County Housing Coordinator Chris Brown, and longtime donor and volunteer Mary Howard.

What’s Here 

For those not yet in the know, the ReStore is CGHFH's resale shop, where donated furniture, appliances, building materials, and home décor are sold at discounted prices, with all proceeds going back into the home-building program. It's a model that works particularly well in the Hudson Valley, where Bellenchia says the generosity of the design and building community has been remarkable. Antique dealers, interior designers, trade professionals and residents donate what they don’t need and and grab something new to build or inspire their own projects. 

"People just love shopping here," Bellenchia says. "One because it's a good value, but two, because they get to support a mission that even if they're just coming to understand it, once they do understand it, they embrace it fully."

The new space is more modern and efficient than the old Route 66 location, where the organization operated for 15 years. It has more parking, a more accessible layout, and crucially, room around it to build. 

What’s Coming

CGHFH is currently constructing two new buildings on the property. The first is a model home, a four-bedroom, two-bath starter home that will double as the organization's administrative offices. It's a working example of what Habitat actually builds, available for potential homeowner families, donors, and community members to walk through and see the quality up close. The second is a metal building that will house a light-duty construction shop that Bellenchia says will make the organization faster and more efficient.

Bellenchia has been at the helm since 2021, and the pace of building during his tenure tells a story. When he arrived, CGHFH was completing roughly one home every 18 months. That improved to a couple of homes per year, and last fall, the organization dedicated two homes in Philmont with two more close behind, meaning four local families became homeowners in short order. A newly released strategic plan aims to push further still. The goal is to evolve CGHFH into what the CEO describes as a small development company, capable of building homes in clusters of four, five, or six at a time on acquired parcels, rather than one-off projects scattered across the map.

The Dyson Foundation, which awarded CGHFH a grant earlier this year, described the organization's Rural Starter Home Initiative as a “replicable and scalable model of housing development designed to balance affordability, sustainability, and quality, built to fit the mostly rural communities CGHFH serves while offering the density needed to have a measurable impact.” 

Forever Home

The housing situation in Columbia and Greene counties is not abstract. It is the daily reality for working families who cannot afford to stay in the communities where they were raised or where they hold jobs. The rural Hudson Valley has absorbed the same pressures as everywhere else; rising property values accelerated by pandemic-era migration, a shortage of starter home inventory, wages that have not kept pace. CGHFH has built 28 homes in Columbia County since its founding in 1993, and recently expanded its service area into Greene County. 

"The path out of our housing affordability crisis is by community stakeholders working together," Bellenchia has said. "Collaboration is essential to progress."

A $1.5 million Community Resiliency, Economic Sustainability and Technology Program grant, championed by Assemblymember Barrett, covered the purchase of the new property and the building projects currently underway. 

For now, the May 2 event is the right time to start paying attention to an energized nonprofit. It's a chance to see the new ReStore, walk through a model of what a Habitat home actually looks like, and hear directly from the organization about where they're headed. Whether you're in a position to donate, volunteer, or just shop, understanding what CGHFH is doing tight now is vital rural intelligence. 

The new ReStore at 3521 Route 9 is open Tuesday through Friday, 10am to 6pm, and Saturdays 10am to 5pm. For more information about the May 2 event or to RSVP, contact Sam Stegemann at sstegemann@cghfh.org.