Jaffrey will be one of the beneficiaries of a state-funded program to support the development of new housing units, to support planned workforce housing at the site of the former St. Patrick’s School.
An approval by the state’s Executive Council earlier this month, the New Hampshire Department of Business and Economic Affairs will be awarded $5.1 million of the InvestNH 2.0 program. The funds will support the development of a total of 563 new housing units across the state, the vast majority of which are workforce housing units.
Thirty of those units are planned in Jaffrey, as part of a larger development project in the downtown, on the site of the now-demolished St. Patrick’s School.
InvestNH was established by the legislature in 2025 and provides zero-percent forgivable loans to housing developers building new affordable workforce housing. It is funded through the State Invest NH Fund and is designed to help increase housing availability in the state.
“Now, more than ever, New Hampshire needs to expand its housing stock because it is critical to keep our workforce strong and healthy,” said BEA Commissioner Lucy Lange. “These InvestNH awards will support projects across the state that create affordable housing opportunities for working families, seniors, veterans, and individuals with disabilities while helping communities and employers meet growing demand.”
Jaffrey’s award of $540,000 will support the construction of 30 permanently affordable rental units near downtown Jaffrey.
The site is owned by MJ & MJ Realty Ventures, which plans to build 14 duplex-style homes, each with two units, and a 30-unit apartment building. While the duplexes are expected to be sold at market rate, the apartments are intended to qualify for workforce housing under the state’s definition of the term. Workforce housing, by statute, is either rental housing that is affordable to three-person households earning up to 60% of the area median income, or for-sale housing affordable for a four-person household earning the total median income.
Other communities that received funding include Portsmouth, Whitefield, Concord, Dover, Rochester, Wolfeboro, Winchester, Nashua, Lisbon and Berlin.
“To keep New Hampshire the best state in America for economic opportunity, we have to build more housing, and today, we’re taking action to do just that,” said Gov. Kelly Ayotte, in a statement released after approving the funds. “These investments approved today will help expand housing opportunities for families, workers, and communities across our state.”
High housing costs and low inventory remain a struggle for New Hampshire. According to the New Hampshire Fiscal Policy Institute, in 2026, the median sale price of a single-family house had increased by more than 78% since 2019, and nearly 291% since 1999. Income growth has not kept pace, with households needing an income of $158,000 to make purchasing a home affordable and avoid being cost-burdened.
The median price for a home in Hillsborough County in 2025 was $555,000, and $395 in Cheshire County, according to the Fiscal Policy Institute.
Supply is also low, with New Hampshire Housing, the state’s housing finance authority, estimating that the state needed to add almost 60,000 new units between 2020 and 2030 and another nearly 30,000 by 2040 to meet demand.
“An economy cannot grow if its workforce has nowhere to live,” Lange said. “By expanding affordable housing through InvestNH 2.0, we are addressing one of the most critical infrastructure challenges facing our employers today.