Community Developers Cuts the Ribbon on Gilford Project

Lakes Region Community Developers cut the ribbon on its latest healthy housing project, Gilford Village Knolls III (GVKIII), which provides 24 affordable apartments for seniors in the heart of Gilford Village. Residents are scheduled to move in next month. Stewart Property Management is currently accepting names for the waiting list.
 
GVKIII is the third phase of the Gilford Village Knolls campus, which was the vision of a local citizens group that formed in the 1980s to develop affordable housing for seniors in Gilford.
 
Tony Ferruolo, Chair of the Gilford Village Knolls Trustees, was on hand to welcome the crowd of 70 at the ribbon cutting on June 26. He noted that the Trustees started working on GVKIII in 2007 when the land first became available. After encountering difficulties in assembling the financing required for construction, the Trustees turned to Lakes Region Community Developers who had many years of experience using the federal Low Income Housing Tax Credit program, which is ultimately where 70% of the funding for GVKIII came from.
 
Jason Hicks, Chair of the Board for Lakes Region Community Developers, noted that the organization has evolved over its 25 year history. “In addition to responding to changing demographics, we are responding to the need for resilient buildings. GVKIII represents the pinnacle of our efforts; it is the first multi-family property in the State of New Hampshire to be constructed to the Passive House building standard.”
 
Special thanks were given to Stewart Associates Architects during the event. Stewart Associates had already designed the building before Community Developers became involved. When they decided to pursue Passive House standards with the blessing of the GVK Trustees, Stewart Associates quickly got up to speed on Passive House and modified the building design.
 
Other members of the development team for GVK III include DEAP Energy Group; Steven J. Smith & Associates; Martini Northern; GDS Associates; Sheehan Phinney Bass & Green; and Stewart Property Management.
 
GVK III was financed by Northern New England Housing Investment Fund, New Hampshire Housing Finance Authority, New Hampshire Community Development Finance Authority, New Hampshire Community Loan Fund, NeighborWorks America, and Rural LISC.
 
For questions regarding GVK III’s waiting list please contact Julie Moore at Stewart Property Management at 603.524.6673 or via email at [email protected]
 
Lakes Region Community Developers is a non-profit organization whose mission is to create opportunities for the Lakes Region to thrive by building healthy homes, creating vibrant community assets, and engaging residents.

Caption: Community Developers’ Board Chair, Jason Hicks, cuts the ribbon on Gilford Village Knolls III with the project’s funders, the development team, fellow board members, and staff.