Two affordable housing projects in city awarded $4.3 million in grants

LACONIA — Two multifamily housing projects in the city have been selected to receive a total of $4.3 million in grants awarded through an initiative designed to create much-needed affordable housing.

A proposed 90-unit apartment complex on Province Street will receive $3 million, and a 12-unit project on Blueberry Lane will receive $1.3 million through the InvestNH Initiative.

Grants totaling $49.5 million were awarded to 30 projects across the state to construct housing that will be affordable to individuals or families with incomes below the area median income, according to the state Department of Business and Economic Affairs, the agency overseeing InvestNH. Projects receiving the grants must be completed within 18 months.

“This is terrific news for Laconia,” said Mayor Andrew Hosmer, who pointed out that at every homelessness forum he has attended, the lack of affordable housing comes up as the top issue. “This is just what the city needs."

InvestNH is funded through the governor’s Office for Emergency Relief and Recovery using the state’s allocation of Fiscal Recovery Funds, part of a COVID economic stimulus bill passed by Congress last year.

Funding in the amount of $3 million for the Province Street complex — called the Villages at Province Street — was awarded to Anagnost Investments, an investment and real estate development firm in Manchester. In May the Laconia Planning Board gave approval for the site plan to Brian Gilbert, the current owner of the 10-acre property, an abandoned gravel pit off Province Street near the Laconia Bypass.

Construction of the three-building complex will begin in the spring, company president Dick Anagnost said Wednesday.

The apartments will be priced to be affordable to individuals and families whose income is 60% of the area median income, Anagnost said.

"We have a 50/50 split between market rate and workforce housing apartments," Anagnost said of his company's portfolio of rental units. "We [decided to do] workforce [in Laconia] because that's where the need is."

The company has built thousands of apartments throughout the state, including Apple Ridge off Provencal Road in the south end of Laconia, Anagnost noted.

The Laconia Housing Authority was awarded $1.35 million to construct 12 units on open land at the Laconia Housing Authority’s existing complex at 57 Blueberry Lane, which will now be called Blueberry Place.

Plans call for construction of two single-story buildings, each one containing six, one-bedroom apartments. The project was approved by the Planning Board in August.

Ten of the units will have rents affordable to tenants whose income is 50% of the area median income, with the remaining two apartments priced for those whose incomes are 80% of AMI, said Housing Authority Executive Director Tom Cochran.

The hope is for construction to begin either later this month or sometime in December, once all the necessary documents for the funds have been signed, he said.

“We’re positioned to get the ball rolling,” Cochran said Monday.

Anagnost said he expected to close on the financing for the Villages at Province Street by the end of the year.

“The lack of available and affordable housing in New Hampshire has reached crisis proportions as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic,” said BEA Commissioner Taylor Caswell. “We know that to maintain the vibrancy of our economy, we must address this crisis head-on. These grants represent one program of several under InvestNH, dedicated toward exactly this purpose.”

“New Hampshire is moving fast to address our housing challenges,” said Gov. Chris Sununu, who is responsible for creating the InvestNH program. “This initial $50 million investment will create 1,500 new rental units across the state, helping increase supply, drive down costs.”

Hosmer said the grant funds will be particularly helpful given recent increases in labor and building materials costs.

“Hopefully this will allow fixed costs to be reduced a bit,” he said.

The grant awards were approved by the state Executive Council on Nov. 2.

Hosmer commended the members of the state's Congressional Delegation for working to include funds for affordable housing relief were included in the COVID economic stimulus bill.