WHC In The News

Reprinted from Seacoastonline.com

Work-force housing explored for local sites
By Deborah Mcdermott
dmcdermott@seacoastonline.com
September 28, 2011 2:00 AM

A local work-force housing organization tonight will present its vision for projects in Kittery and Portsmouth, geared toward middle-income Seacoast residents.

The Workforce Housing Coalition of the Greater Seacoast has identified two sites in its proposal for the work-force housing project — one at the current Kittery Water District on State Road and the other at the corner of McDonough and Langdon streets in Portsmouth.

Designs for both will be on display today from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at an event at the Kittery Art Association on Coleman Avenue in Kittery Point.

Coalition Executive Director Lisa Henderson stressed that these are "visions" only, and still a long way from reality. There would have to be a developer willing to invest in the parcels and build work-force housing there.

Henderson said work-force housing must be geared toward households of three making 60 percent of the median income, which would be $45,000. She said the housing is geared for professionals such as teachers, firefighters, hospital nurses and the like who would otherwise be unable to afford the cost of living in the area.

"Modest income housing is what we are talking about," she said.

The coalition last June held a "charette, basically an intense visioning process" to look at work-force housing sites in the Seacoast. More than 60 volunteers, including architects, engineers and planners, participated.

At that time, various parcels in the area were identified and discussed. For the owners of the parcels — which include a third parcel in the Durham area — "the charette was a way to look at their property and see if it might work for work-force housing."
Kittery parcel

The charette envisioned a mixed-use, three- to four-story structure, with retail on the first floor and apartments above.

According to Kittery Water District Superintendent Mike Rogers, the board of trustees is not averse to discussing its State and Walker streets site.

"If we can locate a commercial piece of property in Kittery that is suitable for our operations and be able to build a facility without incurring any out-of-pocket expenses, we would consider relocating our operation to a new facility," he said.

The building is located diagonally across the street from the site of a new York Hospital medical center and is only a short distance from downtown Kittery.

"We are sitting on seven acres of land that very well may have a better use to the community than a storage area for materials used in our operation, as well as our office and garage," Rogers said.

Town Planner Gerry Mylroie cautioned that any such project is a long way off. First, the water district has to find a piece of property and then must find a buyer of the existing site willing to develop it as work-force housing.

"It's a great concept and it presents interesting options for the town and the current property owner to consider," he said.
Portsmouth parcel

The Portsmouth parcel at the corner of McDonough and Langdon streets is just a short distance from Islington Street.

Henderson declined to name the owner of the property. Charette members envisioned a building that would include offices and apartments. The owner is also interested in exploring artist live/work space.

"There were different financial scenarios, different iterations for the parcel," she said.

City Planner Rick Taintor said that area of town first needs to be rezoned to allow for greater density. It's on the fringe between the business area and a more residential area, he said.

He said a rezoning has been discussed by the Planning Board, but nothing definitive has come before it.

He said the zoning is probably going to be less of an issue than finding a developer willing to build work-force housing, given the high cost of land in Portsmouth.

Tonight, at a coalition social event, the renderings for both the Kittery and Portsmouth proposals will be unveiled. The event is a fund-raiser for the coalition, and it is asking for a $15 donation, for which people will receive appetizers and two drinks.

Those with questions about the evening are asked to call Henderson at 205-0539