Meet Joia Hughes, city's first economic and housing director

LACONIA — Joia Hughes first saw Laconia in the late 1990s, when she lived downtown and worked for the agency now known as Community Developers. She said the area’s trajectory over the past 20 years is clear.

“I’ve seen amazing growth,” said Hughes.

Hughes is the city’s first-ever director of economic and housing development. She started on Oct. 7, and said in an interview about a month afterward she has been spending her time getting to know as many stakeholders as she can — and figure out how to put her job description to work.

“What I think the job wants me to do is focus on building and retaining business relationships with the businesses downtown, in Lakeport and The Weirs,” Hughes said. She said she’s spent her first weeks on the job as “a sponge,” meeting “with anyone and everybody” who will talk to her, to hear about their views of what is working and what isn’t when it comes to the city’s economic and housing health.

“This is starting from scratch,” Hughes said about her job. “It’s an opportunity most people don’t get.”

So far, Hughes has met with business owners and social service organizations, with educators and planning professionals. She’s seeing positive momentum, though it’s clear there’s still room to grow.

“Pretty much everyone I’ve met with agrees that the rebirth of downtown centers around The Colonial,” Hughes said, referring to the restoration of the historic Main Street theater.

“We started seeing storefronts fill up. People were excited to be downtown.”

Economic development is half of her job title, the other half is housing development. Hughes sees those two issues as closely related, especially in the current moment.

“We know there’s a housing crunch,” Hughes said, and it’s something that comes up when she talks to employers.

“You can’t ignore the housing problem. If you can’t attract new employees, you can’t grow your business. It has to be addressed together.”

Some business owners she's met have taken the unusual step of acquiring property to house their employees, but she said they’d rather not have to.

“I’m hearing from the landscapers and the restaurant owners, they don’t want to be landlords,” she said.

The situation isn’t helped by the proliferation of short-term rentals, a trend which has diverted much of the rental stock away from conventional leases, often sought by local workers, instead offered them to visitors through more profitable rentals that last just a few days.

On the other hand, those short-term rentals can boost tourism activity, leading to greater demand and economic activity.

“Short-term rentals are contentious wherever you go, that’s no different here,” Hughes said, adding she’ll be interested to see just how many of those properties are in operation in Laconia, and whether she can discern their impact on the housing market. “That’s something I’ll be looking at.”

There’s broad understanding of a need for more housing — especially workforce housing — Hughes has found, but finding the solution is harder than describing the problem.

There are some positive indicators on the housing front. One example is the Community Developers project on Bay Street, currently under construction, which pairs efficiency apartments with supportive services from Lakes Region Mental Health Center, and is designed to lift people out of homelessness.

“I do think that could be a replicable model,” Hughes said.

She’s also excited about the proposal to purchase and develop the former Laconia State School, which calls for a mix of residential, retail, offices and services.

“I had the privilege of working with the team that is working with the buyer, they are amazing. The talent that is working with this team is top-level, their vision for that piece of land is great,” Hughes said. “I really hope that they move forward with the purchase.”

While those projects are steps in the right direction, the city will still be left with a gap between the housing stock it has and what it needs to be a vibrant community and growing economy.

The area has a strong workforce development infrastructure, as seen in the Huot Career and Technical Center and Lakes Region Community College. The degrees and certificate programs will open the doors to jobs, but finding a place to live is a different question.

Hughes said, “We are graduating some really skilled students, we need to figure out how to keep them here.”

On the housing front, Hughes was given a jump start thanks to the work of the mayor’s Task Force on Housing, which disbanded this fall after issuing a report and “road map.”

“Their final report documents the need, with supporting documentation to prove.” She said the report creates a “baseline” for her to build on. “It sounds so simple to say, 'create more units.' But it’s not so simple.”

Hughes said she’s eager to meet with as many people as she can, and invited community members to reach out to her at jhughes@laconianh.gov.

Despite a job title that sounds broad, Hughes has found a simple way to to approach her work.

“I love my kids. I have a 20-year-old and a 16-year-old. I want them to be able to go out on their own some day, and for them to want to come back here, to be able to come back here, and make a living.”