Hidden Pond Apartments Construction Begins In Amherst

An affordable housing project is now underway to bring more rental options to Amherst by Spring 2013.

NeighborWorks Southern NH (formerly Neighborworks Greater Manchester) held their groundbreaking ceremony on Thursday to kick off the $6.7 million development at 104 Amherst Street.

Executive Director at NeighborWorks Robert Tourigny said that it is great to finally kick off the project, which is their first development in the Greater Nashua Area.

“Less than a year from now we will be back here moving people in,” he said.

The development will include 5 buildings with 28 affordable townhouse units among them on the 14-acre property. Tourigny said that this will provide the town with much-needed rental space for the town, which is currently lacking in affordable housing.

The units will be available at $850-950 a month and are available to those below the 60 percent of the total area median family income, which is $56,400 for a family of four. 

NeighborWorks will also provide families with connections to social services, assistance with job searches, resume workshops, homework help and school vacation activities. Tourigny has said that there is also a waiting list for the apartments.

Vice chair of NeighborWorks Margaret Probish said that the apartments will be a welcome addition for the community and its workforce.

“This is an opportunity for our teachers, firefighters and other important people in the Amherst community to find wonderful, affordable housing,” she said.

Senator Peter Bragdon said that he couldn’t afford to live in his hometown of Amherst when he first started his business years back. He fully supports bringing affordable housing into New Hampshire communities.

“The most important thing to businesses and business groups is the availability of solid workforce,” Bragdon.

Town Administrator Jim O’Mara said that this is an excellent example of a private/public partnership that has been embraced by the community. The idea for the project came in 2009, and many Amherst citizens showed their support at town meetings.

This development was made possible thanks to the following partners: financing from Merrimack County Savings Bank and the Federal Home Loan Bank of Boston, tax credits provided by New Hampshire Housing Finance Authority syndicated by Raymond James and a Community Development Block Grant provided by the New Hampshire Community Development Finance Authority through the Town of Amherst.