Buildings nearing completion in Concord as wave of development delivers results

The new apartments at 195, 197, and 199 Pembroke Road in Concord are currently under construction.

The new apartments at 195, 197, and 199 Pembroke Road in Concord are currently under construction. GEOFF FORESTER photos / Monitor staff

The new apartments at 195, 197, and 199 Pembroke Road in Concord are currently under construction.

The new apartments at 195, 197, and 199 Pembroke Road in Concord are currently under construction. GEOFF FORESTER / Monitor staff

The Penacook Landing Development Phase 2 (right) is next to the original units that were built in 2020.

The Penacook Landing Development Phase 2 (right) is next to the original units that were built in 2020.

The new apartments at 195, 197, and 199 Pembroke Road in Concord are currently under construction.

The new apartments at 195, 197, and 199 Pembroke Road in Concord are currently under construction. GEOFF FORESTER—Monitor staff

The Brady Sullivan project at the old Department of Transportation building off of Stickney Ave in Concord.

The Brady Sullivan project at the old Department of Transportation building off of Stickney Ave in Concord. GEOFF FORESTER / Monitor staff

By MICHAELA TOWFIGHI

Monitor staff

Published: 02-01-2024 5:15 PM

The common refrain repeated by lawmakers, advocates and developers to solve New Hampshire’s housing shortage was: build, build and build some more.

After a slew of incentives to spur new development were at the forefront of State House activity last year, state leaders now say they are seeing results. In 2022, the number of building permits issued increased by 18 percent, and the state is set to bring 25,000 units online by 2024, which could start to satiate demand, according to the Department of Business and Economic Affairs.

Some of that growth is concentrated in Concord. In 2022, the city issued 110 permits, which puts it among the top ten municipalities for growth. Nearly 2,700 units are in the works from 11 housing projects in the city.

The second phase of Penacook Landing, a 20-unit development from the Caleb Group in Massachusetts, is set to open this quarter. Of the 20 units, 18 will be designated as affordable. In 2020, the first phase of the project opened with a 34-unit building along the Contoocook River.

On Sheep Davis Road on the Heights, construction is nearing completion at a CATCH Neighborhood Housing project – which will bring 48 affordable units to the area. All units will be income-restricted with 36 units reserved for people who make less than 60 percent of Merrimack County’s area median income. For one person, that is an annual earnings of $46,560.

The Sheep Davis Road development received $750,000 in funding from the state’s InvestNH capital grant program to offset costs.

Dakota Partners, a Massachusetts-based developer, is now accepting applications for the first phase of their Railyard apartments on Langdon Ave in South Concord. This initial section will be home to 98 units, of which 10 will be designated to people transitioning out of homelessness thanks to project vouchers from the Concord Coalition to End Homelessness. The site is scheduled to open in the fall.

On Old Loudon Road, Dakota Partners is also underway on an additional project that will bring 98 units to the heights near Walmart.

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InvestNH funding, which was first made available in 2022 through the federal American Rescue Plan Act, was also utilized by the Tamposi Brothers Holdings LLC and Brookline Opportunities LLC to build a multi-phase project at 195, 197 and 199 Pembroke Road.

The first phase of the project will open in the fall and will include 39 units. However, $3 million in InvestNH funding is secured for another 84 units, which will bring the count to 123 units.

Nearby, an additional 370 units will be added at 70 Pembroke Road, in a project that is managed by ZBJC Properties LLC.

Two former state buildings in Concord will soon be home to housing – the old Department of Transportation building and the Employment Security building. Brady Sullivan is converting the DOT site into 80 apartments on Stickney Road, while the John Flatley Company is nearing construction on 64 apartments on South Main Street.

The City of Concord previously owned the Employment Security building before it was sold in 2021 to the Flatley Company. The apartments will be priced at market rate.

Three other projects will account for over 1,000 units of housing if permitted and approved – the redevelopment of the Steeplegate Mall, Monitor Way and the site of the old drive-in movie theater on Black Hill Road.

Proposals for all three involve multi-use sites, with grocery stores and retail space in conjunction with housing units.