Newburgh housing project gets green light for 120 to 140 apartments

Newburgh moved The Green Apartments closer to construction with a 33-year payment-in-lieu-of-taxes deal and a second site agreement amendment, advancing a project that would bring 120 to 140 apartments to three vacant parcels at 137 Smith Street and 140 and 146 Montgomery Street.

The project sits on about one acre of former Urban Renewal land, making it more than another infill proposal. It is a test case for how Newburgh replaces long-vacant city-owned land, adds housing and handles the legacy of displacement that shaped the neighborhood decades ago. The city built a priority system into the plan so families who can prove they were tied to the old Urban Renewal property can get first dibs through a lottery.

Kearney Realty & Development Group first presented plans to the Newburgh Planning Board on April 22, 2023, after winning development rights in a competitive process that drew five responses from developers. The earlier concept called for 118 apartments, including 45 in one building and 73 in another, along with about 7,000 square feet of retail, two levels of parking, a lawn, a public patio and a playground. The project was originally pitched with rents aimed at households earning 40%, 60%, 80% and 100% of Orange County area median income.

The city’s April 27, 2026 council agenda materials show the project still moving through formal approvals, with the second amendment to the site development agreement and the PILOT agreement for The Kearney Realty & Development Group Inc. The financial break, which stretches 33 years, is the kind of incentive that can make a project like this feasible, but it also raises the question of how much public value Newburgh gets in return for giving up future tax revenue.

Environmental cleanup remains part of the equation. On Aug. 7, 2024, the state Department of Environmental Conservation opened a Brownfield Cleanup Program application for the site and published a draft remedial investigation work plan. Public comments were accepted through Sept. 6, 2024, underscoring that the land still carries contamination concerns even as it shifts toward housing.

Kearney already has a visible footprint in Newburgh. East End Lofts on South Colden Street broke ground on Nov. 4, 2023 as a 66-unit mixed-income project with business space, more than $20 million in development cost, and 40 apartments reserved for artists. The company said it expected that project to finish by summer 2025.

For Newburgh, The Green is not just another construction job. It adds a meaningful block of apartments, but it also shows how closely housing, tax policy, brownfield cleanup and the city’s urban renewal history remain intertwined.