There are a lot of creative housing projects in the works in the New Hampshire seacoast and they all have a similar theme – increasing density.  It’s no secret that New Hampshire is experiencing a housing crisis. A severe lack of inventory has caused prices to surge, leaving both buyers and renters in a bind. From the Governor on down, across the board, the experts have been sounding the alarm on the lack of inventory, and several initiatives by the governor have been stalled by the legislature.

In Portsmouth, developers have looked to increase density through condo and apartment developments, as well as single family projects. There is a project with 79 units (39 existing to be improved) that has recently received approvals for construction. Two potential subdivision projects on Sagamore Avenue are in the works to build condominiums and single family homes. There is also another project on Woodbury Avenue to convert an existing home into multiple units. Green & Co Real Estate has one single family development on Banfield Road, with 22 lots – they were sold out almost overnight. Existing oversized lots have given rise to pocket neighborhoods like Islington Commons, located between the downtown and the West End of Portsmouth.  There has also been an increase in the number of additional homes being built on double lots. 

The housing crisis has also had an impact on local businesses. Like many businesses, Harmony Homes in Durham was having difficulty hiring and retaining employees. Many of their employees had long commutes and simply couldn’t find affordable housing nearby. To help solve this problem, owner John Randolph built a seven unit apartment complex in Durham near the Harmony Homes complex. To make it more enticing for employees, he also added a daycare and office space. Realizing the glaring need for more projects like it, Randolph set out to create a neighborhood of cottage homes nearby in Dover. The majority of these homes will be locked in at or below the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s fair market rental rates for Dover.

Dover has also been at the forefront of adding housing units overall, with several large scale housing projects in the works: 

• Cathartes has a Cochecho waterfront development – 410 units, which will be a mixture of apartments, condos, and townhomes, plus 26,000 SF of commercial space.
• Chinburg Properties is redeveloping the former Strafford County courthouse, which will be converted into 14 residential apartments. There will also be another new construction, four-story building that will house 40 apartments and some commercial space. Twenty percent of the apartments in the building will be subject to HUD rental rates of 80% of the median income for a period of 21 years.
• On Chestnut St, Redgate Real Estate Advisors has proposed construction of a 44,977 SF, multi-use building with 192 residential units, a restaurant, amenity spaces, green roof space and common areas like patio decks, sitting areas and a private courtyard.
• The McIntosh Commons apartments with 156 units in Dover have just very recently obtained approvals and is planned to have a range in size, with a combination of one, two, and three bedroom apartments. A clubhouse is also planned. Approximately 28% of the proposed units will be rent restricted to meet the affordable housing definition in Dover, and the rest would be market value rental rates.

So by no means is the list inclusive of everything, but it does show that there are a number of units on the horizon, which can hopefully start to chip away at the deficit.

-Dave Garvey & Laura Stoll