MANCHESTER, N.H. – Manchester Mayor Joyce Craig joined mayors from Orlando, Dallas and Lansing, Mich. and Tacoma, Wash. on Thursday morning to discuss the impact of President Joseph Biden’s “Build Back Better Agenda” on their various communities.
Topics discussed by the mayors ranged from road maintenance to child care and education, with Craig focusing on housing.
In the roundtable, Craig touted local initiatives such as the city’s new Housing Commission that arose from a set of recommendations from the Mayor’s Affordable Housing Taskforce earlier this year, as well as ongoing efforts to transform a pair of downtown parking lots into mixed-use developments.
She also noted that only 10 percent of apartments in Hillsborough County meet the definition of “affordable housing” and that 68 percent of housing units in the city were built before 1980 and 48 percent of the housing units in the city were build before 1950, requiring significant lead paint abatement efforts.
Craig cited the crucial nature $4.7 million in HOME Funds and other federal funding in addressing these concerns.
“Local communities can’t do this on our own, access to housing is key to the success of our residents,” she said. “(access to federal funding) is an incredibly exciting opportunity for all of us.”
More information on the Build Back Better Agenda can be found on the White House website.