Earlier this week, Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced plans for grants and loans to be given do three dozen construction projects to build more affordable low-income housing. The state’s Home & Community Renewal’s Unified Funding program will award some $95 million to builders.

“In 2014 every New Yorker deserves a safe, decent and affordable place to call home,” Cuomo said in a statement. “By removing barriers, streamlining the application process for communities and combing private and public resources, these projects can begin right away, creating jobs and providing the affordable housing New Yorkers deserve.”

Awards include $5.1 million to Housing Visions Consultants for renovations of four buildings and six new buildings in Syracuse and $8.2 million to Woodrow Townhomes for the preservation of 100 units in Amsterdam. SEPP Inc. was awarded nearly $4 million to transform the former Watkins Glen Middle School into 51 units of senior housing. Other projects are planned all over the state in the Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens, and Staten Island and Saratoga, Dutchess, Nassau, Monroe, Clinton, Schuyler and Niagara counties.

In Rochester, Home Leasing, LLC was approved to renovate and build 43 new units at the historic Eastman Dental Dispensary site.

According to the Joint Center for Housing Studies at Harvard University, consumer spending on renovation projects worth at least $500 will continue to rise at a double-digit pace in the foreseeable future. This year, the expectation is that more than $150 billion will be spent on renovation projects. Undoubtedly, the new program will help New Yorkers contribute to that trend.

“From Niagara Falls to Long Island, we are working with our partners, including local governments and many of our sister state agencies, to create and preserve affordable housing,” said commissioner of the state Homes & Community Renewal Carryl Towns.