Support LRCD through Target Circle ProgramWe are honored and excited to announce that we have been chosen to participate in a special charitable giving campaign, sponsored and funded by Target. And you have the chance to help direct a portion of Target’s donation to us! Now through June 30th, vote for us through the Target Circle program to help determine how Target’s donation will be divvied up. Find out more about Target Circle HERE. We’re asking our supporters to help us make the most of this incredible opportunity. Every vote counts to help us receive a portion of the available Target funds as we continue our mission to create opportunities for the Lakes Region to thrive by developing healthy homes, creating vibrant community assets, and engaging residents. Don’t forget, as you earn more votes, you can keep voting multiple times during the campaign! Thank you for your support, and we encourage you to share your support for us (and your thanks to Target) on social media throughout the duration of the voting! LRCS 2024 Community Partner AwardWe are so proud to share that LRCD was presented with a Lakes Region Community Services (LRCS) Community Partner Award on Thursday, April 11. Community Partner Award recipients are nominated by LRCS employees, and each year a winner is selected from those nominees and recognized at their annual celebration. According to the letter we received from LRCD, "Nominees are businesses, organizations, and individuals in the community deemed to have supported LRCS and its mission in an extraordinary way and being a difference-maker in our community." We are honored to be one of three recipients of the 2024 Community Partners Award! Accepting the award on behalf of LRCD were Carrie Duran (left), LRCD Board Chair and Kara LaSalle, LRCD Real Estate Development Director (right). Housing Advocate: Northway BankThank You Northway Bank! We are so grateful for your support. We need the financial support of our local business community in order to produce more units of affordable housing for essential workers. Most housing developments that we undertake cost us $150,000 to $300,000 before we can get a shovel in the ground. Email CLorentz@LRcommunitydevelopers.org today if your business would like to be a Housing Champion or Advocate. Pictured: Chris Dickinson, Northway Bank Senior Vice President, Chief Commercial Banking Officer with LRCD Executive Director, Carmen Lorentz showcasing Northway Bank's generous donation. Greater Lakes Region Charitable Fund for Children GrantLakes Region Community Developers (LRCD) is proud to announce we were recently awarded a $25,000 grant from the Greater Lakes Region Charitable Fund for Children. The grant will help support LRCD’s Affordable Housing Program, which is responsible for developing and managing affordable rental housing throughout the Lakes Region. READ MORE... Annual Impact ReportWe are so proud of the work we do! While there is still more progress to be made, we invite you to explore our 2023 Impact Report to learn more about the needs of our community as well as our accomplishments over the last year. View the full report by clicking the image below. Harriman Hill III UpdateThings are moving along at a good pace on Harriman Hill III, our 30-unit project in Wolfeboro. This project is the third and final phase of the Harriman Hill development, which is a partnership with Eastern Lakes Region Housing Coalition. Phases I and II were built in 2012 and 2014, and contain a total of 48 units. For Phase III, construction drawings are under development. We continue to work with NH Housing, NH Community Development Finance Authority, MVSB, and Evernorth to get all the financing lined up. We hope to put the project out to bid in May, with the goal of starting construction this summer. Bay Street UpdateWe continue moving forward on 17 Bay Street where we plan to construct a new building with 12 efficiency units of supportive housing in partnership with Lakes Region Mental Health Center. Over the past three months, we’ve finished construction drawings, put the project out to bid, updated the project budget, and secured an InvestNH grant (subject to Governor & Council approval) to help with demolition costs. Thank you to the City of Laconia for submitting the InvestNH application.
We continue to work with NH Housing, NH Community Development Finance Authority, and NeighborWorks Capital to close on all our financing. Thank you to Belknap County for applying for the Community Development Block Grant for this project. We hope to begin demolition and clean-up of the site before summer. Lakes Region Community Developers (LRCD) is proud to announce they were recently awarded a $25,000 grant from the Greater Lakes Region Charitable Fund for Children. The grant will help support LRCD’s Affordable Housing Program, which is responsible for developing and managing affordable rental housing throughout the Lakes Region. According to NH Housing’s “2023 Residential Rental Cost Survey,” the median rent for a two-bedroom apartment in Belknap County is $1,556. Only 4% of two-bedroom units in Belknap County are considered affordable to the average renter household. People of low income are being squeezed out of the local housing market altogether due to the lack of supply of affordable apartments. This grant from the Greater Lakes Region Children’s Auction will aid LRCD in continuing to operate its existing portfolio of affordable rental apartments, which provide safe and healthy housing for approximately 315 children in the Lakes Region. In addition, this funding will help LRCD develop new housing in Ashland and Wolfeboro. “The Lakes Region desperately needs more affordable rental apartments for families of low income,” says LRCD Executive Director, Carmen Lorentz. “As a non-profit developer of affordable housing, we are proud of our work in doing all we can to meet the needs of the community and are so thankful to the Greater Lakes Region Charitable Fund for Children for its support.” About the Greater Lakes Region Charitable Fund for Children: Numerous fundraising events throughout the year support the Greater Lakes Region Charitable Fund for Children, including their four-day signature Children’s Auction event every December. In the past four decades, the Fund has distributed more than $8.6 million to over 80 nonprofits that serve low-income families and children in the Lakes Region, all through volunteer efforts, community donations, and corporate sponsorship. The Children’s Auction falls under the umbrella of the Greater Lakes Region Charitable Fund for Children, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that helps local community organizations that serve children and families in need. For more information about the Auction, the nonprofits it supports and how you can help, visit ChildrensAuction.org. Photo Caption: Lakes Region Community Developers Executive Director, Carmen Lorentz accepts grant award check from Greater Lakes Region Charitable Fund for Children Executive Director, Jenn Kelley
By respecting and appreciating the diversity within our LRCD communities, we can empower everyone to live their best life and promote equity and justice for all of our residents. We hope you enjoy these monthly blogs with resources and events that help you learn about and celebrate the beauty in our differences, while acknowledging our shared humanity. Autism Acceptance Month is recognized annually in April. What started as “Autism Awareness Month” in 1970 has evolved over time. The autistic community continues to advocate for more than awareness, striving for public acceptance and celebration to ensure all people can access the support they need in order to thrive. Many of us have a narrow understanding of autism and autistic people. This Autism Acceptance Month, we invite you to explore the resources below to expand your knowledge, find resources that may be useful if you think you or someone you care about may be autistic, and identify ways you can become an ally to autistic people in your community. Some helpful resourcesAutistic Self-Advocacy Network (ASAN)
Autistic Self Advocacy Network (autisticadvocacy.org) ASAN seeks to advance the principles of the disability rights movement with regard to autism. They believe that the goal of autism advocacy should be a world in which autistic people enjoy equal access, rights, and opportunities. ASAN published a great online book written by and for autistic people to help explain many things about autism. If you are autistic, think you might be autistic, or if you want to better understand autistic people, this is a great resource for you. Read the Book – Welcome to the Autistic Community (autismacceptance.com) Embrace Autism Embrace Autism | The ultimate autism resource (embrace-autism.com) Dissatisfied with the lack of information available on autism in adults, a group of autistic people founded Embrace Autism in 2018. Their goal is to distribute research and experience-based information on autism. They write, “Quality autism information can help us make sense of our lives, it can help us discover who we are and the amazing potential we have, and it can help us acknowledge the beauty and splendor in ourselves and each other.” Association for Autism and Neurodiversity (AANE) AANE Homepage - AANE AANE helps autistic and similarly neurodivergent people build meaningful, connected lives. They provide individuals, families, and professionals with education, community and support in an inclusive atmosphere of validation and respect. Good News on Gale SchoolWe are excited to announce that Evernorth Rural Ventures has made a reservation of New Markets Tax Credits for the Gale School project, which will provide much-needed equity to round out the financing package in combination with federal Historic Tax Credits. In the coming weeks, we hope to enter into an agreement with a single investor to use both types of tax credits. In the meantime, we have $76,500 in NH business tax credits left to sell by March 31st! If your business would like to support this project, please contact Carmen Lorentz at 603-524-0747 x110 or CLorentz@LRcommunitydevelopers.org. Kara LaSalle Returns as RED DirectorLRCD is very pleased to welcome Kara LaSalle back to the organization as our new Real Estate Development Director. In this role, Kara leads LRCD development activities, overseeing projects from site selection through approvals, financing, and construction to successful completion and turnover to asset management. For the past four years, Kara served as a Senior Community Investments Officer at Evernorth, where she analyzed tax credit opportunities for affordable housing and community development projects and provided real estate development capacity and technical assistance to a range of clients. Kara previously worked at LRCD for six years in various roles, including as Real Estate Development Project Manager from 2017-2019. We are also excited to welcome our new office mascot, Crush (Kara’s adorable Boston Terrier). Sal Steven-Hubbard is Senior Real Estate DeveloperSal Steven-Hubbard is preparing to transition to a part-time role starting in September, after 12 years in the full-time RED Director role. Under Sal’s leadership, LRCD has grown its real estate portfolio by adding:
As a result of Sal’s work in recent years, we will add another 45 affordable rental apartments and hopefully complete renovations of the historic Gale School in Belmont by the end of 2025. Sal’s new title is Senior Real Estate Developer. Caitlin Meaney Promoted to Asset Management DirectorCongratulations to Caitlin Meaney on her promotion to Asset Management Director and on the achievement of her CHAM designation (Certified Housing Asset Manager) from the Consortium for Housing & Asset Management. CHAM is an advanced-level designation that teaches the skills needed to manage the long-term success of affordable housing properties and portfolios. Caitlin has been a valued team member at LRCD since 2014. She served as Resource Development Director for eight years before transitioning into asset management as part of LRCD’s plan to enhance our capacity to manage our growing real estate portfolio. This is the first time we have had a full-time position dedicated to asset management. It is well-timed, as we expect to add another 121 units to our portfolio over the next few years. Legislative UpdateThere have been more than 50 bills related to housing introduced in this session of the NH Legislature - the busiest session ever for housing advocates! Check out Housing Action NH's website for an overview of key bills that the coalition is following this year. First Time Homebuyer SeminarBy respecting and appreciating the diversity within our LRCD communities, we can empower everyone to live their best life and promote equity and justice for all of our residents. We hope you enjoy these resources and events that help you learn about and celebrate the beauty in our differences, while acknowledging our shared humanity. Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month – NACDD Each year, the National Association of Councils on Developmental Disabilities (NACDD) and its partners work together to create a social media campaign that highlights the many ways in which people with and without disabilities come together to form strong, diverse communities. The campaign seeks to raise awareness about the inclusion of people with developmental disabilities in all facets of community life, as well as awareness of the barriers that people with disabilities still sometimes face in connecting to the communities in which they live. 2024 Theme: “A World of Opportunities”We’re celebrating people and working together to remove obstacles. Our goal is to build a community that’s committed to creating a world where everyone can do well and succeed. Join us in making a world where all kinds of people have the chance to thrive. |