On Feb. 2, 2023, Onondaga County Executive Ryan McMahon announced the creation of the Onondaga County Housing Initiative Program (O-CHIP), a $10 million housing fund that is available to private sector and nonprofit developers, to support housing development efforts countywide.

Developers may apply for O-CHIP assistance for any type of housing project including affordable, market-rate, apartments, condos or single-family homes, with preference being given to projects that include affordable housing, adaptive reuse buildings, condos or brownfield development.

O-CHIP will typically provide a $5,000 grant per unit but may offer more in special cases. To be eligible for an O-CHIP grant, a project must have at least five units, and the maximum award in most cases would be $250,000. The County did state that a maximum award of up to $750,000 may be available for larger projects that are “regionally significant,” although the County did not provide any additional information as to what would make a project regionally significant.

Applications to O-CHIP must be submitted to the County for review. Developers who are awarded funds will be notified by the Community Development division of the County, and funds will be dispersed in accordance with an agreement between the County and the developer.