Please help Lakes Region Community Developers (LRCD) to create more affordable housing opportunities in the Lakes Region by participating in NH Gives with a donation to LRCD June 6 – 7.
NH Gives, an initiative of the NH Center for Nonprofits, is a powerful, statewide 24-hour online fundraising event that is designed to build community, connect donors to local nonprofits and generate excitement about the nonprofit sector. LRCD is proud to be a part of NH Gives this year, asking the community to join this impactful effort to make a difference right here in the Lakes Region. LRCD has been creating affordable housing in the Lakes Region for 30 years. Since the late 1980’s, LRCD has created 366 affordable rental apartments for people of low income, but it is not enough, and they need your help. Wages have not kept pace with the rapidly rising cost of housing. Also, although the need for housing is great, production has not kept pace with the need. Now, the Lakes Region finds itself facing a housing crisis like never before. LRCD envisions a Lakes Region where everyone lives in a home that supports good health. It is the key to workforce development and local business growth, as well as solving the growing crisis of homelessness. If LRCD can achieve this vision, everyone in the community will benefit. LRCD needs the support of the community to increase housing production to the level needed to ensure the right amount of housing is affordable for essential workers, seniors who want to age in place with dignity, and people experiencing homelessness and housing instability. Please mark your calendar and set a reminder to join the NH Gives fun by donating to LRCD between 5pm, June 6 and 5pm, June 7. Your donation will help LRCD grow its pipeline of affordable housing developments so they can meet the need. If interested in participating, subscribe to our email newsletter. To learn more or donate during NH Gives, visit LRCD's NH Gives web page. LRCD Celebrates DiversityBy 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. Celebrating Jewish American Heritage helps to strenghthen our community and promote a sense of belonging, shared civic life, and deeper understanding of cultural heritage. Explore unique resources from across the United States by visiting JEWISH AMERICAN HERITAGE MONTH. YOU'RE INVITED Friday Night Services: Temple B'nai Israel in Laconia invites all LRCD residents to join their Friday night services, which are offered in person and on Zoom. Fill out the contact form HERE to register in advance, so they can be prepared to welcome you. Community Holocaust Remembrance Program: THIS SATURDAY, May 6 at 4pm Presented by Temple B'nai Israel & the Laconia Human Relations Committee Event Details LRCD Celebrates DiversityBy 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. APRIL IS AUTISM ACCEPTANCE MONTH!
Housing Champion of the Month: Sheehan Phinney"We are proud to support LRCD’s work as a non-profit housing developer. Groups like LRCD are in this for the long haul, and we realize it is a privilege that LRCD lets us partner with them in their efforts to create new affordable housing opportunities in the Lakes Region. We are honored and humbled that LRCD lets us be a small part of helping them achieve their mission.” – Ken Viscarello, Chair, Affordable Housing Group at Sheehan Phinney 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. LRCD Receives Grant from Greater Lakes Region Children's AuctionLakes Region Community Developers (LRCD) is proud to announce we were recently awarded a $20,000 grant from the Greater Lakes Region Children’s Auction. The grant will help support LRCD’s Affordable Housing Program, which is responsible for developing and managing affordable rental housing throughout the Lakes Region, including Belknap, southern Grafton, southern Carroll, and northern Merrimack counties. Through our mission to create opportunities for the Lakes Region to thrive by developing healthy homes, creating vibrant community assets, and engaging residents, LRCD continues to work to address the dire need for affordable rental housing for people of low income in the Lakes Region. READ MORE... Lakes Region Community Developers Executive Director, Carmen Lorentz accepts grant award check from Children’s Auction Executive Director, Jenn Kelley Towns Can Now Use TIFs for Affordable HousingIn order to build housing that is affordable, it typically has to be higher density. For example, a developer building 50 attached townhouse style units on a site can sell each for less than they could sell 10 houses on subdivided lots on the same site. This is because the construction costs can be spread out over more units. In order to achieve higher density though, water and sewer infrastructure is necessary. Many towns in the Lakes Region do not have adequate water and sewer infrastructure to accommodate dense residential development. There is now a solution to help break down this barrier. LEARN MORE by reading the Op-Ed published in the Laconia Daily Sun by LRCD Executive Director, Carmen Lorentz. Save the Date! NH Gives 2023Legislative UpdateHousing Action NH provides a great update on state housing-related legislation as bills cross over between legislative chambers.
Lakes Region Community Developers Receives Grant from the Greater Lakes Region Children’s Auction4/6/2023
Lakes Region Community Developers (LRCD) is proud to announce they were recently awarded a $20,000 grant from the Greater Lakes Region Children’s Auction. The grant will help support LRCD’s Affordable Housing Program, which is responsible for developing and managing affordable rental housing throughout the Lakes Region, including Belknap, southern Grafton, southern Carroll, and northern Merrimack counties. Through their mission to create opportunities for the Lakes Region to thrive by developing healthy homes, creating vibrant community assets, and engaging residents, LRCD continues to work to address the dire need for affordable rental housing for people of low income in the Lakes Region. According to NH Housing's 2022 Residential Rental Cost Survey Report (July 2022), rental vacancy rates in the Lakes Region are less than 1% (a 5% vacancy rate indicates a healthy market), and the median rents for two-bedroom apartments ranged from $1,275 in Belknap County, up to $1,693 in Grafton County. This is a 24-48% increase in rents over the last five years. This grant from the Greater Lakes Region Children’s Auction will aid LRCD in continuing to own and 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 keep rents in their unsubsidized apartments in Laconia affordable to the families of low income who live and work here year-round, as well as apply for land use approvals and funding for new housing developments 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 Children’s Auction for its support.” Photo Caption: Lakes Region Community Developers Executive Director, Carmen Lorentz accepts grant award check from Children’s Auction Executive Director, Jenn Kelley
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