Residents enjoyed some socially distanced fun fall activities. An outdoor pumpkin carving & painting event took place at Harvey Heights Meredith. Also, trunk or treat events were held at Ames Brook Apartments in Ashland and Lochmere Meadows in Tilton.

LRCD was recently awarded funds to help expand our Community Building & Engagement Program. Funding was provided by the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS), a federal agency with the mission to improve lives, strengthen communities, and foster civic engagement through service and volunteering. CNCS has awarded Volunteer Generation Fund dollars to Volunteer NH, which then selected nonprofit organizations like LRCD to receive sub-grants to grow volunteer program opportunities that support New Hampshire communities. With this award, LRCD has been able to double the capacity of our Community Building & Engagement (CB&E) program with the recent hiring of a second Resident Services Coordinator.

Experience has shown that the most effective way to accomplish community goals is to engage its community members. Through the CB&E program, we are empowering our residents to work together to find solutions to the problems in their community, such as establish a community watch, hold informational events, or host guest speakers. LRCD is working to give residents the tools necessary, to host community events, and create things to strengthen their communities.

LRCD is grateful for this funding and excited to see the growth of this program, our residents, and our communities.

LRCD's rehabilitation of Ames Brook Apartments is complete. This $5 million rehab project has brought Ames Brook  and its 40-units up to our healthy housing standards by improving life safety systems, indoor air quality, accessibility, and energy efficiency.

Please enjoy this four-minute virtual tour of Ames Brook Apartments.

We moved into 193 Court Street, Laconia last summer, but the renovations are not done! Last, year, we did all the work we could afford to do to convert the vacant building into our headquarters and the hub of our community building & engagement work in Laconia. The items still left to do include: more insulation, new siding on the north and west walls, parking lot improvements, and landscaping. If your business pays NH business enterprise or business profits taxes in NH, you can redirect a significant portion of your tax liability to a local project like this. Please contact Carmen at CLorentz@LRcommunitydevelopers.org if you are interested in supporting the 193 Court Street Project.

2020 America Recycles Day focuses on individual action by highlighting the actions we can all take to collectively address the challenges facing our nation’s recycling system. It aims to inspire communities and individuals to recognize the economic, environmental, and social benefits of recycling. We urge people to reduce, reuse, re-purpose and recycle in every aspect of their life. To actively choose to live a recycled lifestyle by: 

1. Recycling at home, work, school and on the go; 
2. Buying products made with recycled content; and 
3. Educating and encouraging friends, family, and neighbors to take the to recycle!

Happy America Recycles Day!

Lakes Region Community Developers (LRCD) recently completed renovations on Ames Brook Apartments, a 40-unit apartment complex located on Ledgewood Lane in Ashland.
 
The property was built in 1975, and in an effort to preserve it as part of the Lakes Region’s affordable housing stock, LRCD purchased it in November 2016.  It took three years for them to assemble the five million dollars needed for improvements.  Construction began in July 2019.
 
LRCD’s vision is for everyone to live in a healthy home – one that is energy efficient, has excellent indoor air quality, and is free of any hazardous materials such as lead paint, asbestos, or mold. Ames Brook Apartments required significant rehabilitation to bring it up to LRCD’s healthy housing standards.
 
Working with Stewart Associates Architects, NorthPoint Engineering, and North Branch Construction, the renovation transformed the property inside and out, improving safety, accessibility, ventilation, energy efficiency and aesthetics.
 
Exterior upgrades included a new parking lot, new roofs, new windows, decks, additional insulation and more, while on the inside there are new kitchens, new bathrooms, and carpets replaced with low VOC vinyl flooring. The fire alarm system was upgraded and a sprinkler system was installed. In addition, two of the 40 units were converted into fully ADA compliant apartments, where none were available before. Common areas also received a face lift.
 
Ames Brook was LRCD’s first occupied rehabilitation project, adding a new layer of complexity to the process. Residents had to be relocated to new apartments, with some of them having to move twice. LRCD is grateful for their cooperation and good humor through 14 months of construction.
 
LRCD wishes to thank the following organizations without which the project would not have been possible: Raymond James Tax Credit Fund, New Hampshire Housing Finance Authority, Franklin Savings Bank, New Hampshire Community Development Finance Authority, the US Department of Housing & Urban Development, the US Department of Agriculture – Rural Development, Federal Home Loan Bank of Boston, Rural LISC, NeighborWorks America and the Town of Ashland.
 
Ames Brook Apartments is managed by The Hodges Companies of Concord, who has provided third-party property management services for LRCD for 13 years.
 
“This was a challenging project, but we are immensely proud of it,” said Carmen Lorentz, LRCD’s Executive Director. “It’s so gratifying to hear from the tenants how much they love their new apartments.”
 
LRCD welcomes you to take a virtual tour of the new Ames Brook Apartments to see all the improvements.  Visit LRcommunitydevelopers.org for the Ames Brook Apartments Virtual Open House.

With a generous grant from NEF Housing Charities, Inc. LRCD was able to purchase and distribute two reusable cloth facemasks to each of our residents. We felt this was  a small way we could help our residents stay healthy.

In addition to building affordable rental housing, we are working to help our community members of modest means overcome other obstacles. Towards this goal we have created two new programs.

If you know someone struggling to pay their mortgage or rent because of Covid-19, please tell them about the NH Housing Relief Fund, which can provide one-time grants and ongoing assistance to help keep NH families housed.

We moved into 193 Court Street, Laconia last summer, but the renovations are not done! Last, year, we did all the work we could afford to do to convert the vacant building into our headquarters and the hub of our community building & engagement work in Laconia. The items still left to do include: more insulation, new siding on the north and west walls, parking lot improvements, and landscaping. If your business pays NH business enterprise or business profits taxes in NH, you can redirect a significant portion of your tax liability to a local project like this. Please contact Carmen at CLorentz@LRcommunitydevelopers.org if you are interested in supporting the 193 Court Street Project.

Many water heaters default to 140-degrees Fahrenheit (60 degrees Celsius), but temps that high pose not only high energy costs but scalding risks to your family. Most water heaters operate just as efficiently at 120-degrees Fahrenheit (49 degrees Celsius), and the lower temperature could also help increase the lifespan of your water heater.

For every 10 degrees you lower the water temperature, you can save between 3 and 5 percent on your water heater costs. Additionally, wrapping an insulating blanket around your water heater will help save energy this winter, possibly as much as 4 to 9 percent in water heating costs. Find them in your local hardware store.

LRCD is excited to introduce you to Skylor Beery, our second Resident Services Coordinator. Skylor and Kristy Pearce will work together as Resident Services Coordinators to serve our 700+ residents, as well as expand our Community Building & Engagement Program.

Skylor is originally from Kansas and moved to Laconia over two years ago. Since moving to the region Skylor has become an active community member, she is the President of The Lakes Region Young Professionals network, a board member for Stand Up Laconia and Neighbors In Need. She is also a part of Leadership Lakes Region Class of 2020. Skylor has spent the last 5 years working with survivors of domestic and sexual violence, helping them heal, move forward, access the services they need.

We are thrilled to have Skylor on staff and be able to increase the capacity of our Resident Services and Community Building programs.

We highlighted the Pine Hill Solar Project in our May newsletter http://www.lrcommunitydevelopers.org/latestnews/archives/05-2020. This month, we wanted to highlight one of the funders of that project, Mainstay Technologies.
 
Mainstay Technologies supported the project via their donor advised fund at the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation. Mainstay created its donor advised fund to make its corporate giving more intentional. To make an even bigger impact, Mainstay matches employee contributions into the fund and makes additional corporate contributions.

Mainstay's “charity team” is composed of the CEO and five team members from various aspects of Mainstay’s operation. CEO Ryan Barton shared, "Giving is an incredible opportunity to invest in our communities. As a team, we see it as stewardship – we choose a focus and then look (with our friends at the NH Charitable Foundation) for wonderful nonprofits to partner with. We give in a focused way, expecting clear results. Seeing lives changed as a result of our collective giving is inspiring to us all! For each of us should measure our true success by our impact on people."

Over the last few years, Mainstay has focused its charitable giving on projects that help children and families in the Granite State and promote environmental sustainability. The Pine Hill Solar project aligned with this focus by eliminating electricity costs for families and reducing carbon emissions.
 
To learn more about Mainstay's charitable efforts please read this feature in the New Hampshire Business Review.

As you may have seen in the news, in late July, the Save Our Gale School group (SOGS) successfully moved the 1894 Gale School building onto a new site on Concord Street in Belmont Village. It was a massive community effort over many decades to save this beautiful historic building. We congratulate SOGS and their many partners, funders, and supporters in achieving this amazing feat!
 
We are honored and excited that SOGS asked us to redevelop this beloved historic building. Our initial concept is that the Gale School will be a community facility housing a daycare and other services needed in the region. We are in the very early stages of our process. Right now, we are forming our design team and applying for grants to help pay for pre-development work, including architecture, engineering, and historic consultant services.
 
Our goal is to complete initial plans for redevelopment this winter, and then to assemble the financing necessary for construction, ideally by the end of 2021. If all goes well, we may be able to start construction in 2022.
 
We will post periodic updates on our website and include them in our newsletter so that you can follow our progress.

Check out this drone video of the building being moved captured by Bruce Atkinson.

If you know someone struggling to pay their mortgage or rent because of Covid-19, please tell them about the NH Housing Relief Fund, which can provide one-time grants and ongoing assistance to help keep NH families housed.

                   $185,000 in NH Business Tax Credits Available
 
We moved into 193 Court Street, Laconia last summer, but the renovations are not done! Last, year, we did all the work we could afford to do to convert the vacant building into our headquarters and the hub of our community building & engagement work in Laconia. The items still left to do include: more insulation, new siding on the north and west walls, parking lot improvements, and landscaping. If your business pays NH business enterprise or business profits taxes in NH, you can redirect a significant portion of your tax liability to a local project like this. Please contact Carmen at CLorentz@LRcommunitydevelopers.org if you are interested in supporting the 193 Court Street Project.