Affordable seniors housing project moving along well
PLAISTOW: Construction of an affordable senior housing development is underway on Chandler Avenue, spurred by a recent $3.5 million loan from Citizen’s Bank.
Longtime local builder Steven Lewis of Steven Lewis Inc., partnered with Timothy Kleiner and Gino Baroni to build 35 one-bedroom apartments and four two-bedroom apartments on an 11.5 acre parcel of land called Chandler Place.
With the Citizen’s Bank loan, five units will be reserved for seniors at, or below, 50 percent of the area’s median income and 20 will be for tenants near the 60 percent mark. In 2014, according to the state’s Employment Security department, was $32,150 per capita in 2014.
According to Joe Carelli, president of Citizen’s Bank for New Hampshire and Vermont, the financial group has been continually dedicated to supporting affordable housing projects.
Located near Plaistow’s bustling downtown stores and markets, Lewis said the development will cater to an urgent Granite State need.
“We have 25 units (to be completed as part of the project’s first phase) and 39 people who have applied (thus far),” he said. “There’s an obvious need in the area.”
He believes supply and demand are unbalanced because of a lack of state funding.
But last year, Lewis and his partners were one of six fortunate developers to receive Federal Low Income Housing Tax Credits totalling $31 million. Their share totalled $4 million.
Jane Law, communications director at the New Hampshire Housing Finance Authority, said the credits typically cover about 70 percent of a project. The remaining funds come from private investors.
“The competition is so fierce and intense. It takes a long time,” Lewis said. “So little money comes to New Hampshire for affordable senior housing. Only two or three a year get funded in the whole state.”