The city’s drive to make usable its backlog of dilapidated properties taken for nonpayment of taxes continues. This week, Kingston’s Department of Housing Initiatives said it’s seeking qualified contractors or developers to rehabilitate two vacant properties — a 6,000-square-foot, four-unit apartment house at 623-629 Delaware Ave. and a small commercial building in the Rondout Historic District at 38 Post Street.

The “Request for Expressions of Interest” released this week is part of an ongoing effort by the administration of Mayor Steve Noble to address the city’s housing crisis by moving long-vacant foreclosed properties back onto the tax rolls as affordable “workforce” housing.

The city is seeking potential buyers who will redevelop the properties to create “community benefits.” In a statement touting the RFEI, Noble said he hopes to see the Delaware Avenue site redeveloped as “workforce” housing aimed at low-wage workers who find themselves increasingly priced out of Kingston’s hot housing market. The statement calls for “creative” ideas for commercial or residential redevelopment of the Post Street site. The developer of the Post Street property may also have to take on an environmental remediation effort due to potential contamination stemming from its former commercial use.

The Department of Housing Initiatives was formed in 2018 to address the affordability crisis. Since then, the city has partnered with the Kingston City Land Bank, RUPCO and private-sector contractors to rehabilitate tax-foreclosed properties with an emphasis on creating affordable housing.

“As we are all aware, we are in the midst of a housing crisis, and we must do everything we can to mitigate housing stress in our community,” said Noble in the release. “Rehabbing these properties is just another step in the myriad housing initiatives we are working on.”

Responses to the RFEI are due by June 6. More information is available at engagekingston.com.