Construction is underway on Concord’s latest affordable housing development, the second phase of Penacook Landing.

The site will feature a 20,000-square-foot apartment building that will house 20 units. Those 20 will include 18 units designated as affordable, meaning their rent will be subsidized to tenants whose income falls under a certain threshold.

The new apartments will continue to add to the city’s affordable housing stock at a time when the local rental vacancy rate is at an all-time low of 0.3% and rental prices continue to climb.

Construction on the site began on Oct. 25 and is expected to be completed by the fall of 2023.

The first phase of the project, which included 34 units, was completed in 2020. This came after years of debate as to what was in store for the 8 acres of land in downtown Penacook.

The land is on the site of a former tannery that closed in 1987. At the time, it was the largest tannery in the state. In 2001 the city of Concord condemned the site and began plans to acquire, clean up and redevelop the plot two years later.

The first phase of this redevelopment was completed in 2011, when Penacook Family Physicians opened a medical office building at 4 Crescent Street, right off Canal Street. Now both phases of Penacook Landing provide a housing component to the city’s decade-old plans.

Penacook Landing is developed by The Caleb Group, a non-profit affordable housing organization in Massachusetts.

Construction on the new addition of 20 sites through the second phase will cost more than $6 million. The project is being financed in part by the City’s Revolving Loan Fund Program, which is providing a $600,000 loan.

The city loan program is designed to help bolster housing opportunities for low- to moderate-income residents in Concord. To date, the program’s portfolio includes 28 loans totaling $1.7 million, according to the City of Concord.

For apartment inquiries at Penacook Landing and rental applications, call the management office at 603-312-4397 or email PenacookLanding@thecalebgroup.org.

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