InvestNH update highlights affordable housing financial support

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CONCORD, NH – A total of 4,657 housing units throughout New Hampshire have been impacted by the Department of Business and Economic Affairs’ (BEA) InvestNH Housing program, according to BEA Commissioner Taylor Caswell.

Caswell provided an update on Nov. 13 of the near-final results of the program to Governor Chris Sununu and the Executive Council.

Governor Sununu proposed the $100 million InvestNH program, which was established in 2022 to address the state’s housing crisis. As a result of the scale of the crisis, this program represented one of the largest awards made using federal ARPA relief funds.

BEA developed and administered InvestNH, which includes a capital grant program to fund the development of affordable housing; a demolition program to assist municipalities in preparing for or addressing housing challenges and project developments in older dilapidated properties; a per-unit incentive grant program that awarded municipalities $10,000 per unit of approved affordable housing, and the Housing Opportunities program, which assisted 67 communities to review and develop planning a zoning strategies to facilitate appropriate housing in their towns.

Caswell’s updates included the following:

  • Capital Grant: Allocated $64 million, impacted 1,605 new units
  • Per Unit Grants: Allocated $16.2 million, impacted 1,910 units
  • Demolition Grants: Allocated $11.5 million, impacted 2,302 units
  • Housing Opportunity Planning Grants: Allocated $7.9 million to 67 communities.

TOTAL: 4,657 units impacted statewide.

BEA shared a map that illustrated the awards by grant type.

“The goal with these one-time funds has been to help accelerate affordable housing units getting to market and setting the stage for more private investment in affordable housing statewide by providing incentives and resources to local communities,” Caswell said.

Caswell also noted that BEA recently launched the new state Housing Champions program and soon will be able to continue to the InvestNH programming thanks to state general funds totaling $15 million.

“This crisis is not going to be solved overnight, but we are working with local leaders to get them the resources they need to match housing needs in their community,” Caswell said.