CDFA Announces $3.75 Million in Community Development Block Grant Awards to New Hampshire Communities

Resources to Support Housing, Public Facilities and Economic Development Initiatives throughout the State

(Concord, N.H.) – The New Hampshire Community Development Finance Authority (CDFA) has awarded $3.75 million in Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds to New Hampshire communities. These critical resources will support housing, public facility and economic development projects in communities throughout the state.

“Community Development Block Grant funds are a vital resource for New Hampshire communities to deliver critical services and infrastructure needed around the state,” stated Katherine Easterly Martey, Executive Director, CDFA. “These local investments in affordable housing, emergency shelter, childcare, mental health supports and broadband infrastructure supported by these funds will make a significant impact on residents in each of these communities.”

Projects approved by CDFA’s Community Development Advisory Board on November 4 include:

Town of Belmont – Lakes Region Community Developers (Public Facilities): Lakes Region Community Developers will use $500,000 to complete renovations for the adaptive reuse of the historic Gale School. The project will transform the Gale School into a social service center, housing a childcare center and program space for a nonprofit that provides life skills training for clients who have intellectual disabilities and acquired brain disorders.

Cheshire County – Hundred Nights, Inc. (Public Facilities): The $500,000 grant will assist Hundred Nights, Inc. acquire two parcels in Keene for the construction of a 48-bed emergency shelter and resource center. The project will create a centralized, permanent home for crisis and emergency shelter services provided to individuals and families throughout the Monadnock Region.

Town of Colebrook – Colebrook Homeowners Cooperative, Inc. (Public Facilities): A grant of $500,000 for the Colebrook Homeowners Cooperative, Inc., a non-profit manufactured home cooperative, to make improvements to their failing water infrastructure

City of Concord – Making Matters NH (Planning): A $25,000 grant for Making Matters NH will support an assessment of the current entrepreneurial and small business support ecosystem in Concord and the Capital region. The results will guide the organization’s strategy to revise programs, expand services, reach more clients with a focus on underserved businesses and entrepreneurs, and plan for additional capacity to serve microenterprises in Concord and the Capital Region.

Grafton County (Planning): The $25,000 grant will assist 19 municipalities with their last-mile planning efforts to expand fiber into each town. Access to broadband has long been an issue throughout rural parts of New Hampshire which was exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. The Grafton County Broadband Committee will support individual municipalities in designing network plans and seeking funding for implementation.

City of Keene – Monadnock Community Service Center, Inc. (Public Facilities): Monadnock Community Service Center, Inc. a non-profit affiliate of Monadnock Family Services, will leverage a $500,000 grant to support the acquisition and rehabilitation of a property that will serve as their new facility. The project will create a centralized, permanent home that will allow Monadnock Family Services to continue to provide mental and behavioral health services.

Town of Northumberland – Brookview Mobile Homeowners Cooperative, Inc. (Planning): A $25,000 grant for the Brookview Moblie Homeowners Cooperative, Inc. a 20-unit manufactured housing park, will help assess the condition of the water/sewer systems and develop preliminary plans and cost estimates to address issues with the systems and decrease costs for Cooperative residents and the Town of Northumberland.

City of Rochester – Community Action Partnership of Strafford County (Housing): The $500,000 in resources will assist the Community Action Partnership of Strafford County to renovate the Gafney Home in order to create twenty-one units of housing affordable to elderly households.

Town of Salem – Depot & Main, LLC (Housing): A grant of $500,000 for Depot & Main, LLC to acquire property and construct seventy-four units of new affordable housing. All of the housing units being built as part of the project will be affordable.

The grant awards await final approval from the Governor and Executive Council.

CDFA has awarded more than $161 million in Community Development Block Grant funds since 2003. These critical federal resources have been deployed to communities throughout New Hampshire and have a significant impact on economic development, housing and community-based initiatives which primarily benefit low- and moderate-income people in New Hampshire. Funding for the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program is provided to New Hampshire through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

To learn more about CDFA, its impact on New Hampshire communities, and available funding resources, visit www.nhcdfa.org.

 

About the Community Development Finance Authority

The Community Development Finance Authority (CDFA) is a statewide nonprofit public authority focused on maximizing the value and impact of community development, economic development and clean energy initiatives throughout New Hampshire. The organization leverages a variety of financial and technical resources, including the competitive deployment of grant, loan and equity programs. Those resources include New Hampshire state tax credits, federal Community Development Block Grant resources and the CDFA Clean Energy Fund. For more information about CDFA and its programs visit www.nhcdfa.org or call 603-226-2170.

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