Town in Line for Affordable Housing Grant

The proposed Pine Valley affordable housing project in downtown Milford is in line to get a $388,800 federal grant to support site improvements for the creation of the 50 units.

Gov. Maggie Hassan and the Executive Council will consider the Community Development Block Grant during their Wednesday meeting at the New Hampshire Statehouse.

"The total project cost is $10,887,317 and includes match funds of $10,310,324," Katharine Bogle Shields, executive director of the Community Development Finance Authority, writes to the council in support of the funding.

The match funds are about $8.6 million from New Hampshire Housing Finance Authority and $1.5 million from Bank of America, according to documents before governor and council. 

The development aims to counter a lack of housing for low- to moderate- income residents and families. Tenants qualifying for the units will have household incomes that do not exceed 50 percent or 60 percent of median area income.

It will restore and save an historic structure along the Souhegan River that is eligible to be listed on the federal Register of Historic Buildings, according to the grant application.

The mill space is currently used for commercial purposes but is plagued by high vacancy, the paperwork said.