​We are proud to announce the completion of LRCD's rehabilitation of Harvey Heights Apartments in Meredith. The LRCD team worked for five years to assemble the $5 million in financing needed for improvements.
 
We achieved completion at the end of 2022, bringing Harvey Heights and its 25-units up to our healthy housing standards by improving life safety systems, indoor air quality, accessibility, energy efficiency, and aesthetics.
 
Please enjoy this short virtual tour of Harvey Heights!

One of the ways LRCD works to address the homelessness crisis is through eviction prevention. Here at LRCD, eviction prevention means pro-active, targeted services and financial assistance to families who are at-risk of being evicted. Our goal is to stop homelessness before it happens. This is a very cost-effective way to address the crisis of homelessness.
 
Our intentional focus on eviction prevention started with the pandemic because we faced an immediate crisis with many tenants out of work or unable to work due to illness or lack of child care. We began earlier and more coordinated outreach to tenants who showed up on the collections list, in collaboration with property management. We helped tenants fill out applications to the federally funded NH Emergency Rental Assistance Program (NHERAP), which provided money to pay rental arrearages, past due utility balances, and in some cases, three months of rent going forward. In cases where someone was not eligible for NHERAP, we provided direct financial assistance from a small eviction prevention fund that we established in 2020.
 
We find this approach to be highly effective. We are very proud to say that over the course of the entire pandemic, we have not evicted anyone who is engaged with our resident services program for non-payment of rent. In 2022, we provided eviction prevention services to 207 of our tenants and direct financial assistance to 26 of those tenants.

​When NHERAP ended in October 2022, our tenants were left with few places to turn for financial assistance, so demand on our small eviction prevention fund increased dramatically. In the past five months, we’ve provided $21,000 in financial assistance; whereas during the entire year of 2021, we only provided $14,012 in assistance.
 
Please consider donating to our eviction prevention fund today. Between ongoing pandemic instability and inflation, the situation is dire for many of our tenants. Your donation will have a big impact on a local family.

Thank you.

“We know first-hand the great work that LRCD does in the community to address the housing crisis. We’re pleased to support an organization with a great track record doing such important work.”
— Kevin Leonard, Principal Engineer of Northpoint Engineering

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.

The NH Legislature has been busy with a slew of housing related bills this year. Two bills with a potentially big impact are making their way through the NH Senate.

• SB 145 establishes a New Hampshire housing champion designation program, including a housing production municipal grant program and a housing infrastructure municipal grant and loan program. The bill also establishes positions within the department of business and economic affairs to operate the program, and appropriates $29 million for the programs. This bill was passed out of the Commerce Committee and now heads to the Senate Finance Committee.
  
  
• SB 231 is called the “housing funding bill” by advocates. It establishes a $5 million per year historic housing tax credit, and makes the following general fund appropriations for the FY24/25 biennium:
  • $8 million to the Department of Health and Human Services for homeless shelters.
  • $2 million to the Department of Health and Human Services for housing stabilization and eviction prevention.
  • $25 million to the state’s Affordable Housing Fund, which is used by NH Housing to subsidize the development of affordable housing throughout the state.
  • $30 million to the Department of Business and Economic Affairs to continue the InvestNH housing program that Governor Sununu launched last year with federal COVID relief funds.

 
As part of the Housing Action NH coalition, we expressed support for the housing funding bill and urged lawmakers to consider the following improvements to the bill:

1. Increase funding for homeless services. DHHS requested $20 million over the biennium, which would add 853 more shelter beds in NH. SB 231 only includes enough funding for 573 new beds.
2. Housing units built with InvestNH funds are only required to be “affordable” for five years. Housing Action NH recommends units be affordable for 20 years.

 
SB 231 was heard by the Senate Finance Committee on February 21, but has yet to be voted on at the committee level.​

The NH Legislature has been busy with a slew of housing related bills this year. Two bills with a potentially big impact are making their way through the NH Senate.
 

• SB 145 establishes a New Hampshire housing champion designation program, including a housing production municipal grant program and a housing infrastructure municipal grant and loan program. The bill also establishes positions within the department of business and economic affairs to operate the program, and appropriates $29 million for the programs. This bill was passed out of the Commerce Committee and now heads to the Senate Finance Committee.
  
  
• SB 231 is called the “housing funding bill” by advocates. It establishes a $5 million per year historic housing tax credit, and makes the following general fund appropriations for the FY24/25 biennium:
  • $8 million to the Department of Health and Human Services for homeless shelters.
  • $2 million to the Department of Health and Human Services for housing stabilization and eviction prevention.
  • $25 million to the state’s Affordable Housing Fund, which is used by NH Housing to subsidize the development of affordable housing throughout the state.
  • $30 million to the Department of Business and Economic Affairs to continue the InvestNH housing program that Governor Sununu launched last year with federal COVID relief funds.

 
As part of the Housing Action NH coalition, we expressed support for the housing funding bill and urged lawmakers to consider the following improvements to the bill:

1. Increase funding for homeless services. DHHS requested $20 million over the biennium, which would add 853 more shelter beds in NH. SB 231 only includes enough funding for 573 new beds.
2. Housing units built with InvestNH funds are only required to be “affordable” for five years. Housing Action NH recommends units be affordable for 20 years.

 
SB 231 was heard by the Senate Finance Committee on February 21, but has yet to be voted on at the committee level.

​One of the ways LRCD works to address the homelessness crisis is through eviction prevention. Here at LRCD, eviction prevention means pro-active, targeted services and financial assistance to families who are at-risk of being evicted. Our goal is to stop homelessness before it happens. This is a very cost-effective way to address the crisis of homelessness.
 
Our intentional focus on eviction prevention started with the pandemic because we faced an immediate crisis with many tenants out of work or unable to work due to illness or lack of child care. We began earlier and more coordinated outreach to tenants who showed up on the collections list, in collaboration with property management. We helped tenants fill out applications to the federally funded NH Emergency Rental Assistance Program (NHERAP), which provided money to pay rental arrearages, past due utility balances, and in some cases, three months of rent going forward. In cases where someone was not eligible for NHERAP, we provided direct financial assistance from a small eviction prevention fund that we established in 2020.
 
We find this approach to be highly effective. We are very proud to say that over the course of the entire pandemic, we have not evicted anyone who is engaged with our resident services program for non-payment of rent. In 2022, we provided eviction prevention services to 207 of our tenants and direct financial assistance to 26 of those tenants.
 
When NHERAP ended in October 2022, our tenants were left with few places to turn for financial assistance, so demand on our small eviction prevention fund increased dramatically. In the past five months, we’ve provided $21,000 in financial assistance; whereas during the entire year of 2021, we only provided $14,012 in assistance.
 
Please consider donating to our eviction prevention fund today. Between ongoing pandemic instability and inflation, the situation is dire for many of our tenants. Your donation will have a big impact on a local family. Thank you.

Lakes Region Community Developers (LRCD) is pleased to announce the addition of two new members to its Board of Directors: Reuben Bassett, Commercial Agent, The Legacy Group / Keller Williams and John Libby, Certified Public Accountant.
 
LRCD’s Board provides mission-based leadership, supporting the organization’s work to create affordable housing and empower their tenants to achieve economic security.  
 
Reuben and his wife Karen have spent the last 12 years opening and growing restaurants in Laconia, including Burrito Me, Local Eatery, Wayfarer Coffee Roasters, and Wayfarer Coffee Lakeport.
​
As a local restauranteur, Reuben is keenly aware of the housing crisis, especially for people who work in the food service industry locally. “The shortage of workforce housing has gotten so bad these past few years. I am excited to join LRCD’s Board so I can be part of the solution.”

John Libby is a Certified Public Accountant in both New Hampshire and Maine with offices in Moultonborough and Dover. His experience consists of assisting businesses and individuals with tax strategy, planning, and compliance, while also delivering a wide range of business advisory services. He currently serves on the board of the Wentworth Economic Development Council in the Wolfeboro area and first became aware of LRCD because of their 48-unit affordable housing complex in Wolfeboro, Harriman Hill.
​
“Harriman Hill is a really nice property that provides housing for a lot of employees of local businesses. I look forward to helping LRCD create more housing opportunities like Harriman Hill over on this side of the lake. We really need it.”

​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.

“We are proud to support LRCD’s work to address the housing crisis in the Lakes Region. We also love that they go to great lengths to incorporate energy efficiency and renewable energy in all their developments – our missions are highly aligned.”
—Dana Nute, President of Resilient Buildings Group

​LRCD is partnering with Lakes Region Mental Health Center to create 12 units of supportive housing for people of very low income at 17-19 Bay Street in Laconia. According to a draft rental gap analysis by Lakes Region Planning Commission, Laconia needs 584 more units of housing affordable to people under 30% of area median income, which is the demographic that our project will serve.

A fire one year ago destroyed one of the structures on the lot and the other is vacant. Our project will improve this blighted property and result in a beautiful building that fits into the neighborhood.

On February 7th, the Laconia Planning Board approved our conceptual plan. This means we can move forward with a site plan application under the City's performance zoning rules, which provide greater flexibility on issues like density and parking.

Our proposal has generated some opposition from residents in the neighborhood who have been negatively impacted by the homelessness crisis. Unfortunately, there has been a great deal of misinformation spread about the project. We look forward to demonstrating what a benefit this will be to the neighborhood and to the city as we move through the process.

​The occupied rehabilitation project at Harvey Heights Apartments in Meredith is now complete! The $5 million renovation project transformed the property inside and out, improving safety, accessibility, ventilation, energy efficiency, and aesthetics.

Our vision is for everyone to live in a healthy home – one that is energy efficient, has good indoor air quality, and is free of any hazardous materials such as lead paint, asbestos, or mold. Housing is one of the most important social determinants of health. We are proud of the hard work we did over six years to bring Harvey Heights up to the same standards as the rest of our portfolio because we know what a big impact this has on the families who live there.

Stay tuned for a virtual tour of Harvey Heights next month!

​Neighbors in Need is a charitable organization that provides financial assistance to individuals and families in need within the Laconia, Gilford, Meredith, Tilton and Belmont communities. LRCD’s resident services coordinators work closely with Neighbors in Need to help our tenants overcome barriers or manage crises.
         
Neighbors in Need has helped our residents pay for car repairs, car registrations, dental care, medical treatments, movers, furniture, and cleaning supplies. Neighbors in Need takes the lead in communicating with other local organizations and charities if additional financial resources are needed in order to respond to a request for assistance.
 
LRCD is so thankful for Neighbors in Need. They are the 'catch-all' organization for providing financial assistance and finding local services when it seems all other options are exhausted. Our residents can count on Neighbors in Need to provide help whenever possible – thank you for being a partner our community can rely on!

Kylie Goss is a tenant at Lochmere Meadows, an affordable housing complex in Tilton developed by Lakes Region Community Developers (LRCD). Kylie grew up in the Lakes Region and has been here her entire life, except for one year she spent living in Florida.

When Kylie was younger, she struggled with substance use disorder. She is proud that she has been in recovery for eight years now.
​
She explains, “what got me out of it was finding out I was going to have a child. I tried a couple times to get sober, but nothing worked until I found out I was pregnant.” She was living in Florida at the time. 

As soon as she learned a baby was on the way, Kylie packed up and headed back home to the Lakes Region to be closer to family. Read Kylie's full story...

Not only is North Branch Construction an outstanding construction management company (they did Harvey Heights in Meredith and Ames Brook in Ashland), they are also very generous!
​
North Branch recently donated $2,000 to LRCD out of their safety fund, which is kind of like a swear jar but for on-the-job safety violations. This is one of the many ways they focus on worker safety. In addition to getting employees and subcontractors to pay close attention to safety rules, they donate the money to a non-profit at the end of the year!

What a great company!

A new legislative session is underway in Concord. Over the next few months, state lawmakers will wade through over 800 proposed bills. In addition, the 2023-24 budget development process is picking up steam with the current budget ending June 30th. All eyes are on Concord to see what policies and funding levels are proposed for affordable housing. Our friends at Housing Action NH provide a great overview here.

Key issues that LRCD is concerned about:

• Funding for the state’s Affordable Housing Fund: In the last budget, lawmakers included a one-time appropriation of $25 million for the Fund, plus an annual carve-out of $5 million in real estate transfer tax revenue. This resulted in an unprecedented total of $35 million in state funding being set aside for affordable housing in the two-year budget. This was significant because New Hampshire has historically not invested much state money in housing; instead relying on federal funding to subsidize the development of affordable housing.
  
  New Hampshire’s Affordable Housing Fund is important to developers. It provides NH Housing with flexible funding they can use to stretch the federal resources they administer to facilitate development of more affordable housing units, including much-needed supportive housing for people of extremely low income. Our hope is that state lawmakers invest even more in the Affordable Housing Fund in the next budget since the housing and homelessness crisis continues unabated. More resources are needed to make a dent in the problem.

 

• Funding for homeless services: We will also be watching the budget numbers for the Housing – Shelter Program within the NH Department of Health and Human Services, which is the part of the state budget that provides funding to homeless services providers across the state. In light of the significant increases in unsheltered homelessness statewide during the pandemic, we are hopeful that the state will invest more funding in these critical organizations and services.

​Lakes Region Community Developers (LRCD) is proud to announce they were recently awarded a $20,000 grant from Rural LISC and Clayton Homes to support LRCD’s healthy housing initiative in their scattered site rental units in Laconia.
 
The grant will support LRCD’s ongoing efforts to ensure these units meet healthy housing standards. This initiative is focused on 33 of LRCD’s multi-family buildings in Laconia, most of which are 50-100 years old. Together, these buildings contain a total of 80 affordable apartments.
 
With this grant from Rural LISC and Clayton Homes, LRCD can continue to invest in the improvement of these buildings; something they’ve been focused on for the last ten years. Despite significant renovations in many of these units, there are still improvements to be made in order for LRCD to meet their own high standards. During the past two years, LRCD began to systematically conduct lead testing and abatement to ensure all of their units are Certified Lead Safe. They also began performing energy audits in these older buildings to identify additional energy efficiency improvements to save their tenants money on their utility bills.
 
LRCD Executive Director, Carmen Lorentz says, “We are so grateful for the support of Rural LISC and Clayton Homes. This grant helps us achieve our vision where everyone in the Lakes Region lives in a home that supports good physical, financial, and mental health.”