A portion of the St. Patrick School property is one step closer to being converted into senior housing.
Keith Thibault, chief development officer at Southwestern Community Services, received approval for a variance from the Zoning Board last week.
SCS wants to purchase a portion of the property to build a 24-unit housing complex for seniors ages 62 and up.
“Our next steps are to develop a site plan for the Planning Board,” said Thibault Friday.
“We hope to be on the agenda for June, and know definitively whether or not we can do this project by October.”
Thibault said that SCS would purchase a 1.65 acre piece of land – mostly consisting of the main parking lot – with the rest of the property subdivided off and kept under the control of the Diocese of Manchester.
Prior to purchasing the property from the Diocese, Thibault said he wants to get Planning Board approval, and to make sure that all of the funding for the project is in place.
Thibault said the project would be covered 2/3 by equity sources like the New Hampshire Housing Finance Authority and 1/3 by grants such as community development block grants. SCS will receive answers on various funding sources between July and September, according to Thibault.
Although SCS is only planning to purchase part of the property, Thibault hopes the entire property will have a use sooner than later.
Thibault said he has seen previous SCS housing projects become a “catalyst for future development,” pointing to their project on Railroad Street in Keene as a recent example.