NASHUA, NH – A site plan for 15 “critically needed” transitional housing units on Pine Street was approved by the Nashua Planning Board Thursday night.
The proposal by Marguerite’s Place, a nonprofit that provides transitional housing and resources to low-income and unhoused single parents with young children, was unanimously approved by the board.
A waiver for on-site parking, the biggest area of contention for neighbors of the project, was also unanimously approved.
The plan for 106 Pine St. includes 10 leased parking spaces at 50 Lemoine St., which is roughly across the street. Marguerite’s Place representatives said Thursday that only half of the residents of their transitional housing – they have five units on Palm Street – generally have a car. One and a half spaces for each unit would normally be required, as well as additional spaces for the offices planned for the ground floor of the four-story building, for a total of 38.
The Pine Street lot abuts the rear of Marguerite’s Place Palm Street property.
Tom Zajak, a civil engineer with Hayner/Swanson, of Nashua, said that office employees of Marguerite’s Place, park in the street, and the Lemoine Street parking lot spaces will slightly ease the on-street parking issue in the neighborhood.
“This is organic growth for them,” Zajak told the board. He said the new building would become part of a “campus environment” that connected to the Palm Street buildings. “We expect the three properties to operate together.”
The 17,700-square-foot four-story building will give the organization more office space and areas to meet privately with clients, architect Anne Ketterer of Novo Studio Architects, said.
Its most important function, Ketterer said, will be to provide transitional housing.
She said that Marguerite’s Place serves mostly young women with small children who are otherwise homeless.
“What I learned [when designing the space]…is that typically it’s a very small child, because typically in abusive situations the abuse begins to show its face when the first child arrives,” Ketterer said. The residential units will accommodate “the most vulnerable – little children, young mothers.”
Transitional housing is a temporary residence that provides a bridge between homelessness and stable longer-term housing. Organizations like Marguerite’s Place also help residents learn life skills that will help them live on their own. It’s considered key to moving individuals and families out of homeless and getting them into long-term stable and safe housing. Many of Marguerite’s Place clients are leaving abusive situations, or have been living with family members or are homeless, Executive Director Hannah Stohler said.
The first floor of the building will have offices and meeting space, needed for the organization’s staff, which operates out of a small and inefficient apartment on Palm Street. The 15 living units would comprise one three-bedroom and four two-bedroom apartments on the upper floors of the building.
The building would replace a century-old two-story warehouse that for the past 50-plus years housed Pine Motor Parts.
Zajak told the board that the new use will be a better fit for the neighborhood.
“We think this is the right neighborhood, the right zone, for this use,” he said.
Ketterer said the apartments will meet New Hampshire Housing Finance Authority requirements for bedroom size, but will be small. The mothers only need twin beds, for instance.
“Though [the building] looks big for the site, we’re actually as efficient as we can possibly be, we’ve made this as small and tight as we can” while still also meeting the needs of Marguerite’s Place, she said. “We don’t need to design huge apartments for big families [for this project], we need to design small well-placed safe welcoming apartments.”
Six Pine Street residents spoke in opposition to the plan, saying that parking on the street is already a problem. They also were concerned about disruption by six to 10 months of construction on the narrow one-way street.
“We recognize with this area of the city, as with many [in the city] there are parking struggles,” Zajak said in response to the neighbors’ concerns. He said that the parking plan for Marguerite’s Place is sufficient and officials from the organization are continuing to work on further off-street parking solutions.
The location is half a mile from Main Street, and within walking distance of shopping and services, so there’s less need for a car, he said.
Zajak added that the project construction manager will be familiar with the logistics of working in such a tight space, and will follow all city regulations for that type of work.
Stohler said that the organization’s transitional there would be no more than one car per unit for the roughly half of their clients who do have cars, even the three-bedroom units.
“They’re designated for single parents,” she said.
The conference room and offices in the new building would be for staff and group programming that already exists.
“We do not have grand plans to expand staff,” she said. The organization’s “small and mighty office staff of 10” will transfer to the site from the Palm Street office.
“We appreciate all the feedback, and we’re dedicated, as we have been for 30 years, to being healthy supportive community members,” Stohler said.
In response to a neighbor raising concerns related to sober houses in the area, she said the property is fully staffed, has surveillance cameras and is focused on safety.
“Our program is not a sober living facility, it’s different in its functionality and use,” Stohler said.
Board member Alderman Patricia Klee, asked if the residents of the housing could be required to park in the Lemoine Street lot as a condition of the waiver, but other board members said that on-street parking is open to the public, so that restriction wouldn’t be possible. Member Adam Varley and Chair Bob Bollinger both said they were confident Marguerite’s Place was addressing the parking issues.
The Zoning Board of Adjustment in July approved variances for density and setback on the site.
The nonprofit, which has been at 85-89 Palm St. for 30 years, already has 10 transitional units for women and children on Palm Street.
An increase in demand for the Marguerite’s Place programs and services began in 2019, according to the organization’s ZBA application. “This need was accelerated by the pandemic, which revealed a mounting crisis for families experiencing homelessness in the Nashua community.”
Applications for transitional housing soared from 45 in 2019 to more than 235 in 2023, the organization said.
“There is a shortage of affordable housing and services for women and children in need of safe and secure transitional housing,” the application said. “There is a great public interest in increasing the availability of housing options and quality of programs and resources offered by Marguerite’s Place.”
