New workforce apartments to put a dent in housing shortage

A rendering of the apartments on Vose Farm Road. (Courtesy of Catholic Charities)

Amid a statewide housing shortage, a religious nonprofit recently opened applications for more than 60 new workforce housing apartments in Peterborough. The apartments are expected to be move-in ready by around January, about seven months ahead of schedule.

“We’re really happy; we’re thrilled to see that it has all come together,” said Susan Howard, chair of the Peterborough Affordable Housing Committee. The volunteer committee was a fierce advocate for the much-needed housing being built at 10-12 Vose Farm Road.

A representative of Catholic Charities, the organization that spearheaded the project, said he thinks the apartments will fill up quickly, possibly by spring.

A second phase that could add 32 more apartments at the Vose Farm Residences is planned, and Catholic Charities is currently trying to secure funding for this portion of the project. The organization applied to programs through NH Housing for this second phase but were denied.

By the time the first 64 apartments are ready for tenants, the project will be about four years in the making. Rents for the one- and two-bedroom apartments are set between $1,365 and $1,638 and include utilities. The units are intended primarily for people making up to 60% of the median income in the Peterborough area. Some are set aside for people making up to 50% and include rent assistance and five are set aside for people who can pay the market rate.

One-person households making up to $51,000, two-person households making up to $58,260, three-person households making up to $65,520 and four-person households making up to $72,080 can apply for a workforce housing unit in the building. Those making above these income limits can apply to live in the market-rate housing.

Making the financials work was a factor in selecting these income levels.

“When you look at the number of units and the types of units, you have to determine the … income levels, which equates to the rent levels, in order to generate enough revenue so you can break even,” said Jeff Lefkovich, Catholic Charities’ executive director of real estate and housing development.

“It’s a fine balance between serving the community — particularly providing housing that people can afford at various income levels — and also making it work permanently.”

The applications opened about a month after the NH Realtors Association announced single-family home prices in the state had hit another all-time high in June. For the past 65 months, home prices were higher than they were the year before, according to that organization.

This statistic shows just one of the impacts of a housing crisis that is touching most corners of the nation. In New Hampshire, rates of homelessness are on the rise, shelters are overwhelmed, and in recent years rental vacancy rates are lower than what housing professionals consider healthy.

Catholic Charities began developing the project on Vose Farm Road shortly before Peterborough’s Affordable Housing Committee reported a need for more residences of this type in 2023. At that time, a survey showed that large employers in town were short by a total of roughly 200 employees due largely to a lack of affordable housing options.

The state housing authority defines workforce housing as permanent residences that “can include, but is not limited to, subsidized and affordable housing, as well as market-rate and mixed-income housing.” Residences in this category can be starter homes, townhouses, condominiums, apartments or accessory dwelling units.

One of the requirements of the new workforce housing in Peterborough is that tenants aren’t paying more than 30% of their income on rent, or aren’t considered burdened by housing costs by HUD standards. The project received significant funding through the NH Housing Low Income Housing Tax Credit Program, and following the HUD rents is a requirement, Lefkovich said.

“And quite honestly, even if we didn’t finance a project through NH Housing, the tax credit program, because the affordability factor is so important, … we would still be following the HUD tables,” he said.

Applications will be reviewed in the order they are received, with offers made on a first come, first served basis if an applicant is determined to be eligible, Lefkovich said. He was not sure how many the organization had received as of August 14. Howard of Peterborough’s Affordable Housing Committee, who is also an employee of the Monadnock Area Transitional Shelter, said she had helped roughly 10 people who use that organization’s services apply.

The Vose Farm Residences apartment complex is Catholic Charities’ first affordable housing project, though the Manchester-based human services nonprofit has served vulnerable populations through senior housing, sober housing for veterans and an emergency shelter.

The organization is planning more housing projects in the future, including an 80-unit complex in Rochester. Catholic Charities is also working on other housing projects in the state, though Lefkovich said he could not comment on those.

“It is our hope that we would be able to pursue another housing project in Peterborough in the future, but there isn’t anything that I can discuss about that effort at the present time,” he said in an email.

Meanwhile, Lefkovich said some federal programs that the organization used to fund phase one have been cut.

“These programs have been critical for closing typically large housing project funding gaps that made affordable housing possible,” he said in an email.

People can apply online for an apartment at Vose Farm Residences at vosefarmresidences.com/applications.

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