The Vose Farm Road neighborhood, Phase One of Peterborough’s new workforce and low-income housing community, is officially open.
The project, developed by Catholic Charities NH, includes 64 one- and two-bedroom apartments reserved for households earning 50 to 60% of the area median income. The units are already at 50% occupancy, and residents will move in next month.
At a ribbon-cutting on Thursday, Tom Blonksi, president and CEO of Catholic Charities NH, praised the town for embracing the project and enabling the development to move forward.
“We are here to celebrate and express our extreme gratitude to the Peterborough community, which welcomed us with open arms. It is like nothing we have ever seen,” Blonski said to a group of about 40 community members. “It just shows your character and integrity. There are just incredible people here, and we feel incredibly blessed because of that. It shows your belief in the common good, and it shows your belief in equity for your fellow human beings, like no other community around the state. You stepped up to the plate from day one.”
The new development is located in the Vose Farm Road business park off of Route 202 in Peterborough. Catholic Charities has stated that the development “responds to the growing shortage of affordable housing for working families across the Monadnock region.”
The Vose Farm Road neighborhood is the first affordable workforce living community developed by Catholic Charities NH. Tax-exempt bond financing for the construction of the project was coordinated by New Hampshire Housing, and equity financing was provided by Evernorth through its Housing New England Fund VI Limited Partnership, utilizing CDFA Low-Income Housing Tax Credits.
At the celebration on Thursday, Blonski noted that Catholic Charities NH has been building housing in New Hampshire for 80 years, including nursing and assisted living facilities, and transitional living for veterans and people in recovery.
Phase 2 of the project, which includes a former office building, will open in the spring.
Jeff Lefkovich, executive director of Real Estate Services for Catholic Charities, talked about the timeline of the creation the project, which began with his first visit to Peterborough in October 2022.
“After 19 tries around the state trying to find the community that would embrace the idea of this project, and which had the right conditions, Peterborough was it,” Lefkovich said. “Today is much more than a ribbon-cutting, and it’s much more than a building. It’s about what Vose Farm represents, which is stability, dignity, and opportunity, and the possibilities that emerge when a community comes together with a shared purpose.”
Lefkovich called housing the “cornerstone of the social determinant of health.”
“We remain committed to creating housing where people can feel good about themselves, and hopeful about what comes next,” Lefkovich said.
Lefkovich specifically thanked the town of Peterborough, including the staff; the Building and Planning Department, Select Board, Planning Board, Zoning Board, Bob and Tori Haring Smith, the SoClean Company, and the Conservation Commission for their support.
“We would not be here without the support of the Affordable Housing Committee,” Lefkovich said. “Peterborough understands and embraces the critical role that housing plays for individuals and families, as well as for the economic health of the broader community, and for New Hampshire.”
Lefkovich added that “Phase One is only the beginning.”
Rob Dapice, executive director/CEO of New Hampshire Housing, said the Vose Farm project utilized about $6 million in federal housing tax credits and several million dollars in both HUD home funding and state Affordable Housing Fund money.
Dapice said the funding sources used by Catholic Charities to build Vose Farm are now at risk of being eliminated from the federal budget.
“The version of the federal budget that the White House has proposed, and the House committee has passed, would zero out the home program that made this project possible,” Dapice said. “I think it’s worth noting the importance of these programs, and how much these programs hang in the balance every time these programs go before Congress.”
Dapice credited Catholic Charities with their success in creating housing across the state, calling the organization “one of the best housing developers in the state of NH.”
“Look at what Catholic Charities has achieved. They have created 64 beautiful new homes here, and they succeeded because they were persistent,” Dapice said.
Cynthia Lacasse, executive vice president and chief program officer of Evernorth, an affordable housing development nonprofit that assisted with financing in the project, acknowledged the challenges in building workforce and affordable housing.
“I want to commend Catholic Charities for taking on this new role of developing housing for families of a variety of different incomes who really need homes. This work is not for the faint of heart. To say there are a lot of hurdles to jump through would be an understatement,” Lacasse said.
The Most Rev. Peter Libasci, the Bishop of Manchester, blessed the new building as the culmination of the ceremony.
Access to applications for residency at Vose Farm is available on the VoseFarmResidences.com website.
For more on Catholic Charities NH, visit www.cc-nh.org.
