Examples of compact, modern housing options—such as backyard cottages, above-garage apartments, and small modular homes—that could help address workforce housing shortages across Watertown and Northern New York.
-Watertown NY By Hans Wilder
Across Northern New York, one issue comes up again and again—housing. Not luxury housing. Not speculative real estate. Just plain, affordable homes for working families trying to build a life in the North Country.
Now, some help is finally on the way.
The Development Authority of the North Country (DANC) has been awarded $3 million through New York State’s new Accelerate Workforce Housing program, a funding initiative designed specifically to increase housing opportunities in smaller rural communities.
The program targets towns and villages with populations under 10,000, which describes much of Northern New York—from the St. Lawrence Valley to the Tug Hill region.
According to Michelle Capone, Director of Regional Development at DANC, the funding will operate as a revolving loan program, helping developers and property owners overcome the biggest barrier to building new homes: cost.
“The cost of new construction, the cost of renovations—it becomes really difficult for working-class families within that income range to be able to afford home ownership,” Capone explained.
The goal is simple: make it financially possible to build again.
A Housing Problem Across the North Country
Northern New York communities have quietly been struggling with a housing shortage for years.
Places like Carthage, Gouverneur, Lowville, Clayton, Alexandria Bay, Cape Vincent, and Potsdam all face the same problem: employers can find workers, but workers can’t find places to live.
It’s especially noticeable around Fort Drum, where soldiers, contractors, medical staff, and teachers all compete for a limited number of homes.
In many villages, the housing stock is 50 to 100 years old, and renovation costs are often higher than the value of the home itself. That discourages investment and leaves many properties sitting vacant or deteriorating.
The DANC program aims to change that equation.
By offering low-interest revolving loans, the funding can help developers:
- Renovate abandoned homes
- Build new starter houses
- Convert underused buildings into apartments
- Revitalize small neighborhood housing projects
And because the loans are repaid, the money can be recycled into future housing projects, creating a long-term development engine for the region.
Small Town Growth Could Follow
For many North Country communities, new housing doesn’t just mean roofs and walls—it means survival.
A handful of new homes in a village like Adams, Theresa, Philadelphia, Hammond, or Heuvelton could mean:
- New students for local schools
- More customers for Main Street businesses
- Increased property tax revenue
- A stronger local workforce
Without housing, younger families simply move elsewhere.
With housing, small towns can start growing again.
Watertown Should Think Bigger
While the new program focuses on smaller communities, the City of Watertown itself could take a few bold steps of its own.
The city has something many communities wish they had: land.
Watertown contains dozens of empty lots, aging garages, and oversized backyards that could easily support small housing units.
City leaders should begin exploring policies that allow:
- Granny pods (accessory dwelling units)
- Backyard cottages
- Converted garage apartments
- Container homes
- Small modular homes
Cities across the country are embracing these compact housing options because they’re cheaper to build, quicker to construct, and ideal for working people, retirees, or young couples just starting out.
Imagine a backyard cottage for a nurse at Samaritan Medical Center.
Or a container home on a vacant lot for a young tradesman working construction at Fort Drum.
Instead of empty land sitting idle, those spaces could become small, efficient homes that bring life back into neighborhoods.
Watertown could become a model for practical housing innovation in rural America.
Turning the North Country into a Place to Stay
For decades, Northern New York has watched young people leave.
But things are changing.
The region now has:
- Fort Drum’s expanding military economy
- Growing tourism in the Thousand Islands
- Remote workers discovering rural living
- A renewed interest in small-town America
The missing ingredient has simply been places for people to live.
With $3 million in housing investment flowing through DANC, the North Country has a chance to start fixing that problem.
If local communities take advantage of the opportunity—and if cities like Watertown start thinking creatively about housing—Northern New York could begin building something it hasn’t seen in a long time:
growth.
And maybe, just maybe, a little hustle and bustle again.
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