It is no secret that finding a nice and affordable apartment in Oswego can be a struggle, especially for low income families, but after five years of renovations, the Hamilton Homes complex is giving new hope to those struggling to find a place to call home. Our Candace Hopkins has more from the Port City.

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OSWEGO, N.Y. -- In a college town like Oswego, finding affordable, quality housing can be a daunting challenge for some families.

"When you look at how Oswego works, you have a lot of students who live off campus and I think we can all attest that most students are willing to live in poor conditions for a higher price and when that happens, you really start to push families out farther away from goods and services," said Housing Visions' Director of Development Ben Lockwood.

That's why many families moved to Hamilton Homes. The facility was built in the 1950s, but over time, the apartments began to show their age. In 2006 a non-profit organization in Syracuse took notice and began a three part massive renovation to revitalize the units.

Officials say before these renovations, this complex had not been updated in decades and many of these units were in need of serious repairs.

"Really, it was just a victim of age. It had not had any meaningful updates other than the roof, you know, could they be occupied yes, were they healthy and good places to thrive, no," said Lockwood.

But the years of construction have paid off. Each apartment is now lead and asbestos free, energy efficient and everything inside is new from wall to wall and the best part, residents say the upgrades have strengthened the sense of community here.

"It's nice, you have people coming around, talking to you, it's very respectful," said Jeff O'Connor.

And while the work may be completed here, city officials say their mission to improve the city's neighborhoods continues.

The project was funded by state and federal money and cost nearly $40 million to complete. There are currently 30 units available.