Breakfast Symposium Recap 2026

Housing Tops the List of Considerations for Putnam’s Growth

Pattern for Progress President Addresses PCEDC’s Annual Symposium

You could hear a pin drop when Alexandra Obremski, President and CEO of the Hudson Valley Pattern for Progress, addressed the audience at the Putnam County Economic Development Corporation’s 5^th annual breakfast symposium on October 6th.

The more than 100 attendees at the Putnam County Golf Course in Mahopac listened attentively as Obremski discussed “Creating Vibrant Communities.”

Obremski told the Putnam County business members, community leaders and government officials that connection and adaption make economic life possible and encouraged consideration of what improvements would make the area more vibrant in five years.

She cited housing as a big challenge for the county, as rising prices have made buying a first-time home or downsizing difficult. This situation, she explained, is common in many areas in the tri-state area. 

“The question is not simply whether Putnam County needs more housing,” she said. “It is what kind of housing is needed, where does it make sense, and how can the county accommodate it without losing the qualities that people value?”

Obremski cited county statistics, including rents rising 44 percent, median household income growing far more slowly, and jobs increasing, while housing stock remained stagnant over the past decade. “This leads directly to the question of where growth should go,” she said.

 She encouraged Putnam County business owners and leaders to continue considering what would make Putnam County more vibrant five years from now, focusing on the Five Commitments for Durable Local Prosperity:

• Do the long-term math. Building something is only the beginning; the obligation to maintain it continues
• Use land productively. Reuse, infill and make small additions to utilities that are already in place.
• Make transportation serve prosperity. The test is whether people can reliably reach work and daily needs.
• Grow the local economy incrementally. Support the businesses and institutions that are already rooted in Putnam County. 
• Treat residents as partners. People who live and work in a place know the daily problems first.

The goal of any progress, she noted, is not to make Putnam look like somewhere else but to make the places that the county already has work even better.

Pattern for Progress is a nonprofit organization that provides objective research, planning, and educational training throughout the region. Its work identifies civic challenges and promotes regional, equitable, and sustainable solutions to constantly improve the quality of life in Hudson Valley communities. Pattern develops its work upon a considerable foundation of facts and experience, without political aims or affiliations.

Following Obremski’s presentation, a panel discussed the topic, moderated by Alana Daly, Vice President, Corporate Affairs & Policy, Northeast Gas Association. Panelists included Derek D. Andersen, Senior Vice President and President of both Northern Westchester Hospital (NWH) and Putnam Hospital, Tim Foley, CEO and Executive Vice President of The Building & Realty Institute (BRI), and Ashley Ley, AICP, PP is a Senior Vice President and co-leader of AKRF’s Hudson Valley and Connecticut planning and land development practice.

View Obremski’s full presentation here