A new beginning

Jeffrey Eaton, CEO, Arbor Housing and Development

Challenge: The merger of two housing agencies into Arbor Housing and Development in 2011 created several challenges including finding a new location for the agency, tailoring that location to their specific needs, transitioning the staff and securing funding to pay for the building and its rehabilitation.



Arbor Development, a nonprofit housing agency previously located in Bath, NY, merged with a similar housing agency, Tri County Housing Council, based in Big Flats, NY, to form Arbor Housing and Development, a nonprofit agency serving the southern tier of New York and northern tier of Pennsylvania. To bring the two groups under one roof, a location in the City of Corning was identified as approximately midway between the two previous locations. A vacant Harley-Davidson dealership on a corner of Bridge Street, a main street in Corning, was available for conversion into an office space that could accommodate the new agency.

The City of Corning, our funders, the contractors and the agency itself had to work in perfect symmetry for a successful outcome for all parties. In May of 2014, Arbor Housing and Development moved into their new offices.

Bringing the organization to Bridge Street has revitalized the area. We rented a portion of our building to Journey Fitness, an innovative fitness center that recently won the Corning Area Chamber of Commerce award for an emerging business. A new hair salon and chiropractic/wellness office have continued the revitalization of Bridge Street.

The relocation was not just about a building; that’s just the visual piece of the puzzle. Relocation has made Arbor Housing and Development more visible within the city and able to form more partnerships that create housing options for the community. We are renovating and rehabilitating the largest housing complex in Corning, Meadowbrook Apartments, which was a crime-ridden neighborhood with units that had fallen in disrepair. Similar to the partnerships we established to create our new office building, Arbor and our partners will create a new home for the families of Meadowbrook.

The Corning City Housing Study is another example of partnerships creating housing options that may not have been possible without our relocation. This collaboration will bring new homeowners to the community, rehabilitate homes in the city and provide incentives to owners to update and upgrade their homes.
Arbor’s relocation created partnerships with other nonprofit and civic groups. For example, community events organized by the Corning Gaffer District around Bridge Street had been discontinued due to poor attendance until our presence brought new life to the community. At a new event this past summer, Arbor collaborated with a local restaurant and created our own little restaurant in our "Home Matters" courtyard. This holiday season, Arbor hosted the Northside Tree Lighting Ceremony. The new, more visible location of the tree was well received by the city and many residents commented on how great it was to cross the bridge and see the brightly lit tree on the corner.

In addition to the physical challenge of moving, our organization needed to merge two different employee cultures. Even though the organization merged three and one-half years before we moved into the new building, the separate staffs had their own culture, traditions and vibe. During the first year in the new space, we had to address which traditions to keep and how to handle different hours, dress down days and holiday celebrations. Now we have a new combined culture and have solidified our corporate structure; the "back room" logistics run more smoothly in the new central location. Two program departments were combined and overlapping programs were synced so clients receive services more quickly. Program staff from other areas were brought into the corporate office and now we have three programs within the building that serve some of the same clients.

The biggest lesson learned during our merger is the importance of collaborative efforts. As a nonprofit, it would have been difficult, if not impossible, to successfully complete a project of this magnitude. Collaborative partners included: Southern Tier Regional Economic Development Council, Empire State Development, Regional Economic Development and Energy Corporation; corporate sponsor Corning Enterprises, NYS Homes and Community Renewal, NYS Energy Research and Development Authority and Steuben County IDA. The Bridge Street headquarters building is a prime example of what is possible when private investors, corporate sponsors and economic development funds come together.