Westchester County is putting real money behind its push for more affordable homes, rolling out a $25 million Housing Flex Fund II to help developers close stubborn financing gaps and finally get shovels in the ground.
The fund is aimed squarely at shovel-ready rental and homeownership projects that can move quickly once that last slice of financing is in place. County officials say the goal is simple: take projects that are stuck on paper and move them into active construction.
The $25 million line item, formally listed as the "Westchester Affordable Housing Investment Fund II," was added to the 2026 capital plan and presented to the Planning Board in November 2025, according to Westchester County Planning Board minutes. The allocation is part of a broader push in the county budget to speed up transit-oriented development and preservation projects already in the pipeline.
County Executive Ken Jenkins has framed the Flex Fund as a way to move projects "from the drawing board to construction," while Department of Planning Commissioner Blanca Lopez has called it an "important financing tool" that helps close last-dollar gaps, as reported by Yonkers Times. Officials say the program will prioritize developments in transit-accessible locations and in parts of the county where the supply of affordable housing is especially thin.
According to Yonkers Times, rental projects that apply for the fund must commit to serving households at or below 65% of Area Median Income. Affordable homeownership projects may serve households up to 80% of AMI, but they must preserve affordability for at least 50 years. Applications that reach the lowest-income households, including supportive housing units, will be prioritized. The county plans to review submissions after the application window closes and expects to approve awards later in 2026, with money starting to flow in 2027.
The Flex Fund model is not brand new. It builds on a 2023 county program that used federal ARPA dollars as gap financing. Nonprofit Wartburg, for example, received roughly $8.16 million in Flex funds for its Waltemade senior-housing adaptive-reuse project, the organization says. Housing advocates and county leaders alike say the stakes are high: the Welcome Home Westchester coalition and county officials estimate the county is short by roughly 16,000 affordable units.
How to Apply
Developers can request application materials by emailing [email protected] and can review program guidelines on the Westchester County Department of Planning website.
Complete funding packages should include a development proposal, project narrative, financial pro forma, and detailed project budget. The county will evaluate submissions after the June 17 to Aug. 21 application window closes and is expected to present award recommendations later this year.
