The Wayne County Regional Land Bank has received $3,327,500 to build 11 affordable starter homes in the town of Lyons through New York's MOVE-IN NY program.
The award is part of nearly $20 million for 61 factory-built homes statewide, including 15 in Rochester, according to Gov. Kathy Hochul's announcement.
Wayne County Regional Land Bank Executive Director Kaleigh Flynn said the Lyons homes will be built on vacant lots. She said the project is intended to expand homeownership options for seniors looking to downsize, young families and workers.
The Rochester Land Bank received $4,537,500 for 15 homes. Executive Director Paul Scuderi said that work will invest in the city's Northeast Quadrant and help residents gain a foothold in homeownership.
The other awards are $7,260,000 to the Essex County Land Bank for 24 homes and $4,840,000 to the Suffolk County Landbank for 11 homes. The four awards total $19,965,000.
Homes sold below construction cost
New York State Homes and Community Renewal administers MOVE-IN NY. The program awards money through a competitive process to municipalities, land banks and nonprofit organizations to buy and install prefabricated CrossMod homes.
Once installed, the homes will be sold below their construction cost to low- and moderate-income buyers. The awards finance the creation of homes through the participating organizations.
CrossMods resemble traditionally built single-family houses and can be placed in urban, suburban and rural communities. They are built to the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development's Manufactured Home Construction and Safety Standards Code.
They also meet design guidelines approved by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, allowing buyers to obtain conventional mortgages. The state describes factory construction as a way to reduce building time and cost while expanding the supply of starter homes.
Expanding a statewide program
The newly announced awards are the final round for 2026. More than $80 million in MOVE-IN NY funding has been awarded to support homeownership opportunities for 250 households, the governor's office said.
The fiscal 2026 state budget provided $50 million for the program. The fiscal 2027 budget added $100 million for expansion and continued exploration of factory-built and modular construction technologies.
State officials say smaller, lower-cost homes have become harder to find, limiting choices for first-time buyers and older residents seeking to downsize. The governor's office put the typical cost of building a small single-family house in New York at more than $450,000, citing increased construction, materials and borrowing costs.
The awards are part of the state's broader five-year housing effort. The governor's office reported more than 87,000 affordable homes created or preserved toward a 100,000-home goal, along with a separate $250 million capital commitment in the fiscal 2027 budget to accelerate additional affordable housing construction.
File photo of the New York State Capitol in Albany.
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