A plan to build more affordable housing in town took a step forward when the Executive Council at their Aug. 30 meeting in Wakefield approved a land sale totaling about 13 acres in North Conway from the state Department of Transportation to the New Hampshire Financing Authority.
The governor and Executive Council authorized the New Hampshire Department of Transportation Authorize the Bureau of Right-of-Way to sell approximately 6.83 acres of state-owned land acquired between 1997 and 1999 for the Conway Bypass Project, located on the westside of the North-South Road. The land was sold to the Housing Finance Authority for $500,000, plus a $1,100 administrative fee.
The governor and Executive Council also authorized the Bureau of Right-of-Way to sell approximately 5.93 acres of state-owned land with improvements located on the north side of Common Court and the west side of the North-South Road to the Housing Finance Authority for $1,046,100, which includes another $1,100 administrative fee.
Executive Director/CEO Robert Dapice told the Sun that while the governor and Executive Council approved the sale on Aug. 30, the closing hasn’t happened yet; however, he expects that to happen in a couple of months.
The Housing Authority is seeking to put 106 units of affordable housing on Common Court land where several defunct condos currently sit.
For this plan to move forward they needed a variance for higher density which was granted by the Conway Zoning Board of Adjustment on Feb. 21. The approval was unanimous. The zoning board consists of chair John Colbath, vice chair Andrew Chalmers, Richard Pierce, Jonathan Heber and Jac Cuddy.
“I want to applaud this project,” said Pierce at the time. “I think it’s fabulous. This is exactly how we deal with the housing crisis.”
As a condition of variance approval, a permanent conservation easement would be placed on the Puddin Hill land.
Cuddy said the sale to the Authority is the best way to create housing.
“This organization is the only organization that can put up this number of units that will maintain an affordable cost,” said Cuddy at a meeting in February of last year.
Affordable housing is defined by the state based on the area median income or the midpoint of local incomes.
These units are intended to be affordable for those making 80 percent of the AMI. In Conway, this is approximately $47,000.
Rents are based on spending no more than 30 percent of income on housing, which results in a monthly payment of about $1,100.
The Sun spoke to Executive Executive Councilor Joe Kenney (R-Wakefield) about the sales on Thursday.
He said the deal protects the eastern side of the road for conservation and uses a piece of western side of North South Road for housing.
“So now they’re gonna have to devise housing plans and how many units, and obviously, work with the town planning board and probably work, maybe to some extent, with the zoning board as well,” said Kenney.
Town Planner Ryan O’Connor outlined what happens next.
“The next step is NH Housing putting the project out to bid; I believe they hope to work toward that goal this winter,” said O’Connor.
“Once a developer is on board, they will begin to create the plans which would be presented to the planning board. I can’t speak to the timeline for when an application would be submitted but NH Housing is making good progress. The variance has already been received for the increased density on the Common Court Lot, subject to the Pudding Pond land being preserved,” O’Connor said.
