Council Stands Behind Senior Housing Project

Once plans to clean up the contaminated site are in place, Town Councilors said Monday they're ready to once again support affordable senior housing on Sanborn Road.

The 13.6-acre parcel of town-owned land on Sanborn Road still has piles of tires, an old fuel tank and drum and soil contaminated with arsenic left over from its former use. But members of the town's Elder Affairs Committee say it's the perfect spot for affordable housing for seniors, provided the contamination is removed.

The committee is hoping for federal Housing and Urban Development grant funding in 2013 to build 60 units in three buildings on the site. If approved, the group would seek a separate federal Community Development Block Grant to bring town sewer and water service to the area.

"It's close to services and close to stores and provides access to the community," said committee chair Stacy Thrall at Monday's Town Council meeting. "HUD looks at that. It's the best piece of property to have the best chance to quality (for funding)."

The Elder Affairs Committee has been working to secure funding for the project on Sanborn Road for roughly five years, Thrall said. The group partnered last year with Southern New Hampshire Services, a nonprofit community action group located in Manchester to submit a grant application to HUD. But when an environmental consultant outlined the extensive cleanup work required before the application could be submitted, the group decided to seek similar funding for a different site on Route 28. That application did not receive funding as a result of larger cuts to HUD, she said.

Thrall said the group is hoping to try again with the Sanborn Road project next year.

"They told us that it was going to take a couple of years to go through the process and the chances of getting approved on the first or second go-around was not likely," Thrall told the Town Council at its meeting Monday. "So we need to know if the town is committed to holding this property for us for another year or two or however long it's going to take us to get through this process."

Several years ago, Thrall said the Town Council had written an order that the land be reserved for senior housing. The town's dog park committee had recently expressed interest in the property, but Thrall said members of that committee were not aware that the Elder Affairs Committee was still interested in the project.

Councilors said they still support the project, as long as the cleanup is feasible.

"I would love us to identify that everything is clean and clear because, frankly, if we don't identify this area as an area the Elder Affairs could look at, we should look at another area because I think our seniors deserve this type of housing," said Councilor Joe Green. "I think it's been a long time coming and long overdue, in my opinion."

Before the site would be ready for grant consideration, it would have to undergo extensive soil and water quality testing, according to the 2011 environmental report. Thrall said the study provided no estimate for the cost of the cleanup.

State Rep. Al Baldasaro, R-Londonderry, who serves as vice chairman of the Elder Affairs Committee, said he expects there could be state funding available to help.

"I'm sure the state does have funding set aside for this type of program," he said. "... I'll kick in some doors if I have to."

Council Vice Chairman Tom Dolan said he was concerned about how many Londonderry residents would actually be able to live in the development, as its units are assigned on a first-come, first-served basis.

"Because it's federal money involved, we aren't allowed to give any preference to a Londonderry citizen," he said. "There is a scenario that says we could build this and it would be totally populated by out-of-state and out-of-town residents and I think that would be disappointing to Londonderry citizens."

In a consensus vote, the Town Council agreed to continue its support for the senior housing project, while awaiting more information about cleanup responsibilities and costs.