We are pleased to announce that a major renovation of our Harvey Heights Ashland property (formerly Ledgewood Estates) is scheduled to start in the spring. The $4 million rehabilitation project will bring Harvey Heights Ashland up to our healthy housing standards by improving life safety systems, indoor air quality, accessibility, and energy efficiency.
 
Two years ago, LRCD acquired Ledgewood Estates in Ashland and Deer Run Apartments in Meredith. Both properties were developed in the 1970s using USDA Rural Development financing. LRCD combined the two properties into one during the transaction in order to make the financing work with USDA. LRCD renamed the properties Harvey Heights at that time, in honor of our founding Executive Director Linda Harvey.
 
LRCD purchased Harvey Heights in order to prevent the loss of 65 units of affordable multi-family housing from the local housing stock and to bring both properties up to our healthy housing standards. Had LRCD not purchased the properties, the USDA mortgages would have been paid off and the Rural Development rental assistance lost. This would have resulted in all 65 units going to market rate rent, which would have displaced 65 low-income households.
 
Both properties are in desperate need of rehabilitation, but due to serious funding constraints in New Hampshire for the rehabilitation of older affordable housing stock, LRCD will phase the rehabilitation. Phase I is the rehabilitation of the 40-unit Ashland property.
 
The largest source of funding for Phase I is the federal Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC), which is administered by NH Housing. LRCD also received $605,000 in HOME funds from NH Housing, a $500,000 Community Development Block Grant from NH Community Development Finance Authority, and a $350,000 Affordable Housing Program Grant from Federal Home Loan Bank of Boston.

Earlier this month, we were notified by Passive House Institute US (PHIUS) that Gilford Village Knolls III is officially the first multi-family building in New Hampshire to be Passive House certified. Passive House buildings on average use 86% less energy for heating and 46% less for cooling than buildings constructed to regular code. In addition to meeting this rigorous energy efficiency standard, we also installed an 86.4kW solar array on the roof. This means that GVKIII will produce more energy than it uses. This is great for the low-income seniors who live there because it means they won’t have to worry about rising energy costs eating away at their fixed incomes.

The installation of a 72.32 kW solar system at our Avery Hill development in Laconia was completed last month. Avery Hill is a cluster of duplexes on Grove Street and Lougee Court near the LRGHealthcare campus in Laconia. It was the first property that LRCD redeveloped back in the early 1990s. The Avery Hill solar system eliminates electric bills for 12 apartments at Avery Hill. This ensures that total housing and utility costs at Avery Hill will remain affordable well into the future.

You have the power to change the lives of hundreds of families in the Lakes Region by supporting the work we do. You may be able to increase your charitable gift to Lakes Region Community Developers by giving in a new way.

Annual withdrawals from your IRA are required after age 70 ½, and the penalty for skipping a required minimum distribution can be significant. However, if you are in the fortunate position of not needing your distribution for living expenses, you may avoid paying income tax on your required withdrawal by donating it to a charitable organization like Lakes Region Community Developers. This may also help you avoid or reduce the taxes that you have to pay on your social security income. Consult with your financial advisor or accountant to determine if making an IRA charitable contribution could be beneficial to you.

When you make sustainable holiday choices you save energy and resources and you protect the environment for both now and for the future.

Consider these statistics:

• Americans throw away about 25% more trash between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Eve.
• If every American family wrapped just 3 presents in reused materials, it would save enough paper to cover 45,000 football fields.
• About 35% of Americans have an unused Christmas present collecting dust in their closets.

If you want to incorporate sustainability into your holiday celebrations, we have a list below of some of our favorites. Some of them may spark your creativity—and even be fun!

1. Decorate with more energy efficient LED strings.
2. Plug your decorative indoor and outdoor lights into a timer to save electricity.
3. Take your own shopping bags on shopping trips.
4. Use creative materials for gift wrap:
   1. Scarves or fabric
   2. Old maps
   3. Reusable tins
5. Donate to a charity or service organization in the name of a friend or relative who supports that cause (we can help you with this one)

For more ideas visit the CDC Go Green for the Holidays page by clicking here.

In November 2017, after many years living and working in the Boston area, Chris Dickinson returned to the Lakes Region, where he grew up, to join Meredith Village Savings Bank (MVSB). He currently serves as the Vice President of Business Development and Small Business Lending. He has 25 years of banking and management experience. Prior to joining MVSB, he held leadership positions in retail banking, small business banking, and commercial lending. Prior to joining MVSB, he served as the Chief Credit Officer for a financial institution in Massachusetts.
 
Chris currently serves as a board member of the Belknap Economic Development Council (EDC) and the Lakes Region Chamber of Commerce. He is also a corporate member of the Laconia Rotary Club. Other memberships include the Massachusetts Bankers Association, The Risk Management Associates - New England Chapter, and the Appalachian Mountain Club.

Chris holds a BA from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst and earned his MBA from New England College of Business. He received extensive training and holds many certifications in risk management and commercial lending from the Massachusetts Bankers Association and The Risk Management Associates.

Chris had this say about joining the board, "It feels great to be part of such a caring organization that gives back to our community by providing healthy and affordable housing solutions." 

Outside of work, Chris enjoys many of his favorite outdoor recreational activities, including hiking, camping, snowboarding, and wakeboarding.

• Caitlin McCurdy, Chair
  Caitlin is an Associate at McLean Middleton of Manchester. She lived in the Lakes Region for a number of years and now lives with her family in Hopkinton.
  
• Aaron Bassett, Vice Chair
  
• Aaron is Director of Development Ops of Nantomics, a cancer genomics startup out of Santa Cruz, CA. He enjoys living in Laconia with his family.
  
• Geoff Ruggles, Treasurer
  Geoff was the Finance Director for the Town of Gilford for over 10 years and now is the Finance Director for the Town of Bow. He is a longtime resident of Gilford.
  
• Dana Nute, Secretary
  Dana is a founder of Resilient Buildings Group and its General Manager. He lives in Sanbornton.
  

The LRCD Green Team celebrated America Recycles Day with the residents of River’s Edge in Laconia by rolling out a new building-wide recycling program. The Green Team talked about recycling with residents at their weekly Coffee Hour. All residents received recycling bins.

The young residents of Pinecrest got into the Halloween spirit carving and painting pumpkins.

• LRCD was awarded the following grants this fall:
  • Ramlose Foundation
    A grant was awarded for the installation of security cameras at Pinecrest Apartments in Meredith.
  • TD Charitable Foundation
    The Foundation awarded LRCD funds towards the development of affordable housing in the Lakes Region.
  • NeighborWorks America
    LRCD was a recipient of a Learning Communities Award. The Award funds staff participation in a learning group focused on strengthening community in low-income rural areas.
  • Rural Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC)
    Funds were awarded for healthy home initiatives that will be part of the Harvey Heights Ashland renovations.
    

You may have seen the recent news that we received an allocation of Low Income Housing Tax Credits (LIHTC) from NH Housing for our rehabilitation project at Harvey Heights Ashland. While we wait to find out about other funding needed for the Ashland project, we thought we would take this opportunity to explain what LIHTC is and how it works because it is a critical component in most of our projects.
 
The LIHTC program is a federal tax credit program established in 1986 to encourage investment of private equity into affordable housing for low-income households. Without an incentive like LIHTC, the development of affordable rental properties is not attractive to private investors because affordable rentals do not generate much, if any, profit.
 
Every year, the IRS allocates a certain amount of LIHTCs to each state based on population. In New Hampshire, the LIHTC program is administered by NH Housing Finance Authority, which runs a competitive award process every year to determine which projects in NH will be able to use LIHTCs.
 
In the case of Harvey Heights Ashland, we were awarded $552,835 in LIHTCs. We now have to find an investor to buy our tax credits. In exchange for buying our LIHTCs, our investor will be able to claim $552,835 in federal tax credits per year for 10 years after the project is complete.
 
The value of LIHTCs to developers like us fluctuates. Investors try to predict over the 10 years that they will use our LIHTCs what may happen with the economy, how tax rates might change, how well the particular project might perform, and whether they can take advantage of other federal programs to enhance the benefits they will receive by being our investor. At the moment, we are projecting that the value of our recent LIHTC award will be 86 or 87 cents on the dollar. This means that our award of $552,835 in LIHTCs could yield us something like $4.8 million in equity ($552,835 x 0.87 x 10 years) that we can use to pay for much of the renovation costs at Harvey Heights Ashland.
 
We usually enter into a limited partnership agreement with our LIHTC investor where they own 99.99% of the project and we own 0.01%. The partnership typically lasts 15 years. During this time, we bear the responsibility of ensuring that the property is in compliance with a myriad of federal regulations so that our investors can use the LIHTCs we promised them.
 
One of the biggest responsibilities is making sure that prospective tenants meet the income eligibility requirements. At the time they apply, their household income cannot be even $1 over the limits established by the federal government. If we make a mistake, it means our investor cannot use the LIHTCs and we have to pay the investor the amount they lost out on. We also have to make sure that the property is financially healthy. If not, our investor can require us to lend money to the property to fund any operating deficit.
 
It is difficult and costly to utilize the LIHTC program. However, it is the most significant source of funding available in New Hampshire to build affordable housing. We continue to work hard to make sure that the Lakes Region benefits from this powerful program.
 
If you want to read more details about the LIHTC program, this overview by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency is a good resource.

You have the power to change the lives of hundreds of families in the Lakes Region by supporting the work we do. You may be able to increase your charitable gift to Lakes Region Community Developers by giving in a new way.

If you are concerned about paying capital gains tax on stocks, bonds, or mutual funds that have appreciated in value, you could donate them to LRCD. We are a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, so we are not subject to capital gains tax. If you have owned the securities for at least one year, you can donate them directly to us without paying any capital gains tax. We can then liquidate the securities tax-free and use the proceeds to carry out our mission. Consult with your accountant or financial advisor to determine if donating securities is right for you.

November 15th is  America Recycles Day,  a program of Keep America Beautiful, is a nationally recognized day dedicated to promoting and celebrating recycling in the United States. In celebration of America Recycles Day please Reduce, Reuse, and RECYCLE! Below is a fun infographic to remind you what to recycle and what it becomes when you do. Happy recycling!

If you build it they will come, and build it we did. The Lochmere Meadows Playground is officially open for play. The 50+ children that live at our Tilton affordable housing development now have a safe place to play, and the families have a convenient place to gather. 

We want to once again thank EPTAM Plastics, Lakes Region Community Services, the Annette P. Schmitt Foundation, the Greater Lakes Region Children’s Auction, Franklin Savings Bank, Heart and Hands Thrift Store, and KaBOOM! for their financial support of the playground. Also, a big thank you to  our in-kind donors and volunteers from: RediMix Concrete, ProQuip Equipment Rentals, Pike Industries, Squam Lakes Conservation Society, Meredith Village Savings Bank, Lakes Region Community College, New Beginnings, Governor Sununu, and his staff and the NH Public Utilities Commission.

Over 80 mini-golfers enjoyed a beautiful day on the mini-golf course and helped raise $10,000 for affordable housing, resident services, transitional housing, and scholarships for day camps.  

Thank you to our Presenting Sponsor, Meredith Village Savings Bank; Ball Sponsor, AutoServ; Putter Sponsor, Nesseralla & Company; and Hole-In-One Sponsor, Modern Outdoor Landscape. We’d also like to thank  our Tee Sponsors, participants, raffle prize donors, host, and the Common Man Restaurant/Tilt'n Diner.

Jason Hicks and Christopher Walkley step down from LRCD’s Board of Directors this month after reaching their six-year maximum term.  

Jason is the Chief Financial Officer of New Hampshire Mutual Bancorp. He served as LRCD's Board Chair for the past two years, overseeing the organization’s first transition to a new executive director. In addition, Jason served on the Audit, Executive, Finance & Asset Management, and Investment Committees. As a skilled finance professional, Jason enjoyed digging into our financial reports and helping us improve them. He dedicated a tremendous amount of his time and energy to LRCD – his belief in our mission is clearly evident. His calm and steady leadership will be missed by our Board and staff alike. 

Chris is a Vice President – Commercial Banker at Bank of New Hampshire. He served on the Acquisitions, Audit, Finance & Asset Management, Governance, and Investment Committees. In addition to his finance skills, Chris brought enthusiasm and new ideas to the Board, and he helped other Board members feel confident in making difficult decisions. 

We are extremely grateful to Jason and Chris for their leadership and service.

Our team from ReVision Energy is hard at work installing the solar system at our Avery Hill development in Laconia. The project, described in detail in our July News, will help save each of the 12 families living at Avery Hill an average of $650 per year. The install should be completed by the end of the month.  

Thank you again to the Thomas W. Haas Fund of the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation, NH's Renewable Energy Fund, and NH Community Development Finance Authority’s Clean Energy Fund for helping fund this project.

LRCD’s Laconia residents get in on the Pumpkin Fest fun. Pumpkin carving event held at our Batchelder Street School property. 

Did you know your ceiling fan can help you save on heating costs? If you have a ceiling fan in your home, you can reverse the spin direction so that it runs clockwise. This redistribution of air could save you up to 15% on heating costs. Most fan models have a reverse switch on the base. This adjustment should cause the air to be drawn up toward the ceiling instead of downward. This reverse setting pushes the air up against the ceiling and down the walls, to gently recirculate warm air without creating a cooling wind effect. This method of redistributing air helps to heat a room. 

The playground at Lochmere Meadows in Tilton is nearly done thanks to the efforts of many generous businesses, organizations, and individuals. We cannot express how grateful we are for the outpouring of support we have received from the community.
 
RediMix Concrete sent a crew of their employees to dig all the holes using equipment donated by ProQuip Equipment Rentals. A group of volunteers with Granite United Way’s Day of Caring assembled the playground elements, erected them, and secured them in place with 2x4s (all in the pouring rain). Our Day of Caring crew included Governor Sununu and several members of his staff, along with volunteers from Squam Lakes Conservation Society, Meredith Village Savings Bank, and the NH Public Utilities Commission. Redimix came back and poured the concrete to secure all the playground elements. Today, we are busy spreading 175 cubic yards of wood chips with the help of another crew of volunteers and a skid steer lent to us by ProQuip.

We also want to thank EPTAM Plastics, Lakes Region Community Services, the Annette P. Schmitt Foundation, the Greater Lakes Region Children’s Auction, Franklin Savings Bank, Heart and Hands Thrift Store, and KaBOOM! for their financial support of the playground

Register today! Play a round of mini-golf, enjoy lunch provided by the Common Man, and try your luck at our raffle.

You can play anytime between 10 am and 2 pm on Saturday, September 29th, at Pirates Cove in Winnisquam. Teams of any size are welcome.

It has been almost two months since we cut the ribbon at Gilford Village Knolls III (GVK III). All 24 apartments are rented in this beautiful senior housing project in the heart of historic Gilford Village. The new residents are settling in and enjoying their new home.

We all want to feed our family the healthiest food possible, but buying all organic produce can be prohibitively expensive. Below is a handy list to help you save money on your grocery bill while ensuring that you buy foods that do not contain pesticides.

We are officially in the pre-development phase of our first single-family home project, Harriman Hill Homes in Wolfeboro. Thanks to a long-standing partnership with Eastern Lakes Region Housing Coalition, a pre-development loan from NH Housing, an award of NH business tax credits from NH Community Development Finance Authority, and a grant from the Northern Border Regional Commission, we are planning to break ground next summer on this development of 20 affordable single-family homes.
 
For the past 25 years, we have developed multi-family rental properties that primarily serve families who make up to 60% of the area median income (about $45,000 for a family of four). We have some apartments, mostly in Laconia, that we can rent to families making up to 80% (about $65,000 for a family of four). Unfortunately, it is typical for us to have to turn away families in need of healthy housing because they make too much money to qualify for any of our apartments.
 
At present, there are no resources available in the State of New Hampshire to help non-profit organizations like us develop a housing product that meets the needs of working families who make too much to qualify for affordable rentals but who are shut out of the home purchase market due to limited inventory and rising prices. This shortage of suitable and affordable housing for young workers and their families is seriously hindering the ability of companies to attract and retain skilled workers.
 
In response to this need, we are working with Lakes Region communities and with our funders to get creative and figure out how to develop this “missing middle housing.” We have defined this housing product as single-family homes that are affordable to families who earn 75% to 120% of area median income (about $65,000 to $85,000 for a family of four).
 
We are very excited to be working with the Town of Wolfeboro and Eastern Lakes Region Housing Coalition to address the need for this type of housing. They were extremely forward-thinking with their vision several years ago to develop a beautiful campus of affordable rentals and single-family homes. We are honored that they have chosen to work with us to implement their vision.
 
If your community is talking about the need to diversify its housing stock to accommodate young workers and their families, please reach out to Carmen Lorentz at (603) 524-0747 ext. 110 or [email protected].

We will build the playground at Lochmere Meadows on September 12th, as part of Granite United Way Day of Caring. We need volunteers! Click here and scroll down to Tilton Playground Build for more details and to sign-up for a fun fulfilling day.

Thanks to the generous donations of so many people and businesses the Lochmere Meadows dream playground is becoming a reality! Special thanks to EPTAM Plastics, Lakes Region Community Services, the Annette P. Schmitt Foundation, the Greater Lakes Region Children’s Auction, Franklin Savings Bank, Heart and Hands Thrift Store, and KaBOOM! for their support of this project! See the awesome design our young tenants chose.

The LRCD DipJar has moved to Meredith for some delicious coffee and crepes at 48 Main Café. Offering local roasted coffee and teas, fresh ingredients for one of a kind sweet and savory crepes, local bagels, freshly baked pastries, salads, gluten-free and vegan options!

Visit the friendly staff, pick-up a treat, and do something sweet for the region - Dip for LRCD!

Residents at River’s Edge in Laconia had a very special presentation from Officer Eric Adams. Officer Adams is the Prevention Enforcement and Treatment Officer for the Laconia Police Department. Officer Adams is on the Board of Directors for the Prevention Coalition, Stand Up Laconia, is President of the Board of Directors for Navigating Recovery. and is part of many other local and state initiatives. Officer Adams is a strong, positive presence in the community.

During his presentation to tenants, Officer Adams talked about Substance Use Disorder and how it is affecting our community. He shared tips on what people can do to keep themselves safe, prevent substance use in youth, how to connect people to treatment, and help reduce the stigma attached to Substance Use Disorder. A question and answer session followed and his information was well received by all!

Residents also were given medication lock-boxes to ensure that their medications are kept out of the hands of little people. Stand Up Laconia provided the boxes and has spear-headed the city-wide “Lock It Up” campaign. If you would like information on resources for Substance Use Disorders or to obtain a medication lock-box, please contact Kerri Lowe, Resident Services Coordinator, at 524-0747 Ext. 103.

When life gives you lemons, make lemonade. When mother nature gives you rain, collect it and save on your water bill!Conserve water and reduce stormwater runoff: In the summer months, outdoor tasks such as watering lawns and gardens typically make up about 40% of household water use. With seasonal droughts, restrictions, and bans on lawn watering, and the increasing cost of water, it makes sense to use rainwater instead of municipal water for outdoor uses. Unless it is collected, rainwater runs off impervious surfaces, such as roofs and pavement, gathering pollutants which often end up in local streams, rivers, pond, lakes and marine waters. Keeping and using rainwater on your property helps reduce pollution, erosion and improves local watershed health.

Water quantity: Just 1/4 inch of rainfall on a typical roof will fill a rain barrel. A modest amount of rainfall can supply much or all of your outdoor watering needs - a full rain barrel will water a 200 square foot garden.
Water quality: Rainwater is "soft," or free from minerals and chemicals such as chlorine, fluoride, and calcium that are often present in municipal water. Rainwater is considered ideal for watering plants or washing cars and windows.

LRCD residents use rain barrels in their community gardens and love them!