Concord planners approve Penacook affordable housing project

CATCH Neighborhood Housing’s project on Fisherville Road in Penacook was named for its late director, Rosemary Heard.

A three-story building with 48 apartments is set to be built on Sheep Davis Road in Concord following the city planning board’s site approval for nonprofit affordable housing developer CATCH Neighborhood Housing’s newest project.

The building is a multi-family development that is located in the Gateway Performance District, just behind Walmart on Loudon Road. The units will be priced as affordable housing, according to Assistant City Planner Beth Fenstermacher.

CATCH Neighborhood Housing is a nonprofit that has created affordable housing in Concord, Penacook, Bow and Franklin since the 1980s.

Affordable housing rates for the properties range from $869 to $1,859, according to Alliance Asset Management, the agency’s property management team. Rent fluctuates depending on the number of bedrooms.

Housing Choice Vouchers, commonly known as Section 8, and other forms of subsidies and rental assistance are accepted for these properties, but rent itself is not subsidized. Each property sets income limits for prospective renters to make sure tenants are in need of affordable housing.

CATCH’s most recently completed project, Rosemary’s Way in Penacook, broke ground in June 2021. The site has 42 apartments across six buildings, with the development named in honor of the organization’s late founder, Rosemary Heard.

The construction plans come at a time of increasing need for more housing in Concord. The vacancy rate is below 1 percent across the state.

In Merrimack County, the median monthly gross rental cost for a two-bedroom unit is $1,339 according to New Hampshire Housing’s June Housing Market Report. It has increased by 19.6 percent in the last five years.

CATCH’s plan calls for a sidewalk to be constructed along the site. The construction timeline is still pending.

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