Sharon Delgado, 68, lives a quiet life as a single retiree in Middletown.

Like many other senior citizens, she is on a fixed income and relies on income-based housing to make ends meet.

Delgado currently lives in an older unit at Summitfield apartments on Sweezy Avenue in Middletown.

“I pay $742 a month for rent. I’m left with about $400 left over,” says Delgado.

The woman is hoping to apply for one of 100 new affordable housing units that will be built in Middletown at Summitfield and David Moore Heights on Genung Street.

“There’s going to be everything brand new,” Delgado says. “State of the art.”

Delgado receives food stamps and assistance with her utility bill under HEAP. She hopes the units will be a bit bigger than the 700-square-foot unit she’s in now.

Mayor Joseph DeStefano says 50 units will be built at each location by developers RUPCO and Edgemere.

“There’s a lot of people moving up from New York City. Their rents are exorbitant. Coming up here it’s a little more affordable, but it quickly becomes unaffordable,” DeStefano says. “That’s what happened here in Orange County. Housing escalated so quickly that people can’t afford it.”

According to a 2025 Office of the New York State Comptroller report, homelessness in New York doubled from January 2023 to January 2024 – more than four times the rest of the nation, signaling a dire need for more affordable housing.

“We hear it every single day. It’s the paramount issue for not only Middletown, the Hudson Valley,” DeStefano says.

The $50 million project will be mostly paid for by state and federal funding. Developers already received a $3.5 million federal grant to upgrade infrastructure at Summitfield, according to DeStefano.

Construction at both sites is expected to begin in the fall of 2026 and will take roughly 18 months to complete.

To apply for one of the affordable housing units, call the Middletown Housing Authority at 845-343-1168.