Nashua Housing Trust Fund Committee would like the ability to loan money for housing projects

Matt Sullivan at the Human Affairs Committee meeting on May 20, 2024. (Screenshot)

Nashua’s community development director Matt Sullivan went before the Human Affairs committee on Monday night (May 20) to speak to a resolution that would dissolve the housing expendable trust fund and establish a housing revolving fund.

The approximate $10.2 million in ARPA (American Rescue Plan Act) funds currently in the expendable trust fund would be transferred over to the revolving fund. 

The purpose would be to give the housing trust fund committee the ability to administer loans, which it is currently not able to do from the housing expendable trust fund. 

“The committee has gotten into detailed discussions about the type of awards that it would like to grant to housing organizations and housing developments that are providing affordable housing,” Sullivan said. “There’s been an ongoing conversation with the finance department about the way to actually do that and one specific thing that’s come about is the idea that there might be a need for the funds within the fund that exists today to be loaned out.”

The existing housing expendable trust fund only allows for funds to be administered through grants. With a revolving trust fund, the committee would be able to administer money in other ways such as loans, which would replenish the fund for future programs through loan programs, and would allow for greater flexibility with the mobilization of money. 

Human Affairs Committee chairman Alderman Tom Lopez expressed concern that the fund would stray away from the purpose of supporting “affordable” housing, and of how this change could negatively impact entities that are unable to afford loans and rely on grants. 

“The underlying purpose of the fund is not changing, in fact we’re adopting the exact same five supporting tenants that were included in the original fund,” Sullivan said. “It’s still an affordable housing trust fund but there are other purposes that will necessitate the use of trust fund monies in a given project.”

Those five tenants as stated in the establishing resolution of the housing expendable trust fund in 2021 are: 

• Supporting moderate and lower income housing development with gap financing, for both renters and owners with a priority on one and two bedroom units 
• Supporting the preservation of affordable housing units
• Supporting a First Time Homebuyer Program
• Supporting the creation of new Accessory Dwelling Units 
• Educating the public on the need for and benefits of housing

“This is coming out of a lot of late nights making sure that we are being really thoughtful about this and can continue to help improve the housing in Nashua,” said Alderwoman Shoshanna Kelly who is on the Housing Trust Fund Committee. “I urge you to support this.” 

All those present – Alderman Lopez, Alderman Chris Thibodeau, Alderwoman Kelly and Alderman Tim Sennott – recommended passing the resolution to the full board.

Once before the full board, Alderman Lopez and Alderman Thibodeau said they do not know whether they will vote in favor of the resolution. 

Sullivan also informed the board that the expendable trust fund aims to release a full application on June 1. 

He said, “Within the application there will be a set of scoring criteria specifically delineated that will actually give preference to projects that are not only proposing housing that’s affordable to 80 percent AMI (area median income), but also those projects that are going above and beyond to provide housing affordable to lower income bans than what the city’s current ordinances require and what we recognize to be maybe one of the larger gaps in the city.”

This article is being shared by partners in The Granite State News Collaborative. For more information, visit collaborativenh.org.