CONCORD, N.H. – Last week, the New Hampshire Department of Business and Economic Affairs (BEA) awarded a total of $5 million in state funds under the Housing Champion Program to 18 communities designated as Housing Champions in 2024, which included Manchester.
The Housing Champions Program, established in 2023, is part of a statewide initiative to encourage municipalities to adopt zoning and planning policies that facilitate the development of workforce housing.
The awards were split into two funds: $1.5 million in Housing Production Municipal Grants, which will be available for the development of new housing units, and $3.5 million in Housing Infrastructure Municipal Grants, which are designed to enhance supporting infrastructure fostering housing projects.
Manchester will receive $205,500 in Housing Production Municipal Grants and $116,753 in Housing Infrastructure Municipal Grants. These funds will help increase capacity and upgrade fire suppression systems at the 231 Merrimack St. project, increasing expected affordable housing units in that project from 16 to 30.,
Nashua, Salem and Newport also received Housing Production Municipal Grants while Concord, Dover, Lebanon, Newport, Rochester and Salem also received Housing Infrastructure Municipal Grants.
In total, the grants represent funding for 373 proposed units across the state as well as essential upgrades to sewer, water, electrical, or fire suppression infrastructure that directly support residential housing development.
“These communities have set a high standard for innovation and collaboration in tackling New Hampshire’s housing challenges,” said BEA Commissioner Taylor Caswell. “Their commitment is instrumental in creating the kind of vibrant, sustainable communities that New Hampshire needs to grow its workforce and economy.”
Housing Champions follows BEA’s $100 million InvestNH program that began in 2022. InvestNH helped build nearly 5,000 units of affordable housing and has assisted over 70 communities with developing their own local housing policies.