Medley housing has potential investor 

A housing component for Medley Centre may soon have a prominent investor.

Representatives from the AFL-CIO’s Housing Investment Trust have had several meetings with developer Scott Congel about investing in a 40-story apartment complex on the Medley Centre site, says Eugene Caccamise, president of Bricklayers and Allied Craftworkers Local No. 3. Caccamise mentioned the discussions during yesterday’s Monroe County Industrial Development Agency board meeting. Caccamise is the building trades’ representative on the board.

The Housing Investment Trust is essentially a mutual fund. It invests union pension funds in housing projects — particularly affordable, senior, and special needs housing — with the goal of making some money back. It also expects that union workers would do the construction work. Yesterday, a spokesperson for the trust said she wasn’t aware of any involvement with the project, but that an investment typically wouldn’t be announced until it’s final.

Caccamise also spoke about Congel’s credibility as a developer and said he’s been involved with successful projects across the northeast.

“I think [Medley Centre's] going to move forward,” Caccamise says. “He’s pushing it very hard.”