Melanie Lekocevic reports in Columbia-Greene Media that while local politicians have done virtually nothing to help the Hudson Valley housing crisis, the private sector is doing a tiny bit, with a new hotel being built in Coxsackie. Local officials have long lamented the lack of hotel rooms in the area. In a capitalistic society, when there is a demand for hotel rooms, more people turn their homes or apartments into rental units. That makes the lack of affordable housing in the area worse. Construction began July 30 on the Newbury Hotel in Coxsackie on South River Street. “James Newbury built this property in 1906. He was a machinist,” local developer Aaron Flach said, explaining the name. While construction has begun, rooms won't be rented until next June. The plan, after the hotel goes up, is to add an event center and wedding venue, spa, restaurant, and other facilities. Taxpayers are helping with the costs. “We have a $2 million grant through Empire State Development and we also have a PILOT program through the Greene IDA for 15 years,” Flach said. The developers claim 38 permanent full-time jobs will be added when the project is complete, and they also claim it will turn around Coxsackie, and they might even directly help the Hudson Valley housing crisis. “The future plan... is to restore the storefronts as commercial businesses, but we are not sure yet about the second and third floors,” he said. “We are exploring other grant options to see if we can do additional commercial space, but if that doesn’t pan out we may do apartments or a combination of apartments and hotel spaces.” Read more about this story at HudsonValley360.com.