WHC to host 3rd annual design charrette

Mingle with the design team on Oct. 11th in Dover!

We’re at it again!  The WHC will host its 3rd annual Workforce Housing Design Charrette on October 10, 11, 12th.

What is a design charrette?  It is an intensive brainstorming exercise that brings together community members, property owners and an all-volunteer design team comprised of highly qualified design, development and planning professionals.  The outcome is a series of drawings, or concept designs, that express a vision for future public and private sector investment in the study area.

This year’s charrette will focus on study areas in Dover and Portsmouth.  The design teams will explore potential opportunities for mixed-use development, including workforce housing.

Thank you to our sponsors!  Optima Bank & Trust, Kennebunk Savings Bank, Credere Associates & Strafford County Board of Realtors.

Come mingle with members of the design team and other interested in our work!  We’re hosting a cocktail reception on Thursday, October 11th from 6:30-8:30pm at the Orchard Street Chop Shop in Dover.

FREE!  Light appetizers and cash bar.  We’ll be showing short films made my local filmmaker Melissa Paley that highlight vibrant communities in New Hampshire.

For more details, visit the EVENTS page on our website.  Please RSVP to lisa@seacoastwhc.org

Curious about what the charrette teams will recommend?  Join us for the final presentations at the end of the charrette – Friday, October 12th from 3:00-4:00pm at 200 International Dr. ~ Suite 130 ~ Portsmouth, NH

For more information, contact Lisa Henderson at lisa@seacoastwhc.org or 603-205-0539.

Our Silent Auction Items are Amazing!

Join us on June 7th for our Annual Celebration for a chance to win these amazing prizes.  All proceeds go to support the Workforce Housing Coalition of the Greater Seacoast.

We hope to see you there!

4 $25 gift certificates - Robert's Maine Grill

$500 gift certificate for 5 hours of architectural design time - Classic Building & Design Co.

$100 gift certificate - Petey's Restaurant

$25 gift certificate - Flat Bread Pizza Company

10 Class Card - 3 Bridges Yoga

$25 gift certificate - Isles of Shoals Steamship Company Gift Basket

$150 Gift Certificate for personal organizational services - Seacoast Organizer LLC

$25 Gift Certificate - Mojo's Restaurant Gift Certif icate

1 computer class - Key Partners

1 hour kitchen design consultation - Fairview Millwork

$25 gift certificate - Poco's Bow Street Cantina $50 gift certificate - Galley Hatch Restaurant

4 Value Pass Tickets for Mountain Adventure Park - Cranmore Mountain Resort

Stonewall Kitchen Gift Basket(2) - $100 and $50 value

4 Strawbery Banke Themed Etched Wine Glasses and Wine

Strawbery Banke Museum Family Membership

2 General Admission Passes - Water Country

Scentsy warmer donated by Monique Shevlin

Handmade quilted totebag donated by Anne Rugg

$50 Visa Gift Card donated by Deb Scott

$180 Gift Certificate - Feng Shui by Space Clearing Design Solutions

$189 Gift Certificate - Professional Organizing by Space Clearing Design Solutions

Framed High Resolution Aerial Photograph of your Home, Neighborhood or Special Place -

$200.00 value donated by Rockingham Planning Commission Handmade necklace donated by Robin LeBlanc

It's our Annual Celebration!

Join us to honor local leaders who are helping create new opportunities for workforce housing in the

Greater Seacoast Region

The Workforce Housing Coalition’s Annual Celebration

Featuring remarks by Dennis Delay

of the New Hampshire Center for Public Policy Studies 

Thursday, June 7th 2012

5:00-7:30pm

Three Chimneys Inn - 17 Newmarket Road,

Durham, NH

Tickets are just $25 each 

Admission includes cash bar and heavy hors d’oeuvres  

4:15-5:00   Optional tour of the converted Grange Hall in Durham, including 3 workforce housing units

5:00-6:00 Cocktail Hour & Silent Auction  

6:00-7:30 Program 

• Highlights & accomplishments of the past year

• Keynote speaker – Dennis Delay – NH Center for Public Policy Studies

• 2012 Leadership Awards

Employer Leadership – Ambit Engineering 

Municipal Leadership – Town of Durham  

Housing Industry Leadership – Peter Murphy for

“The Grange Hall”  

Visionary Award – Jack Mettee 

Mettee Planning Consultants 

Advanced reservations requested –

Please reply by June 1st   

Special thanks to our sponsors!

Save the Date! Dennis Delay to Speak at WHC Annual Celebration – June 7th

We are pleased to announce that noted economist Dennis Delay of the New Hampshire Center for Public Policy Studies will be the keynote speaker at the Workforce Housing Coalition’s 2012 Annual Celebration!  This year’s celebration will be held on Thursday, June 7, 2012 from 5:00-7:30pm at the Three Chimney’s Inn in Durham.  The event features a silent auction, a keynote speaker and awards of distinction. Help make the event a success – become a sponsor or an auction donor! 

We look forward to the opportunity to reflect on the year’s accomplishments and thank our vital supporters.  Look for your invitation soon!

May 8th - Getting Ahead of the Curve: Anticipating Workforce Housing Proposals

Attention municipal planners and board members AND housing developers!  NH’s workforce housing statute (RSA 674:58-61) outlines specific actions which must be followed by both an applicant and a local land use board when considering any workforce housing application.  Is your town ready?   Is your development team ready?   

Join us for a lively, interactive forum on Tuesday, May 8^th from 6:30-8:30pm at the Exeter Town Offices (Nowak Room).  We’ll portray a scenario in which a developer introduces a workforce housing proposal in a small Seacoast-area community.  What are the procedures to be followed? Will the developer and planning board agree on the “economic viability” of the project?  Don’t miss Oscar-worthy performances by:  Kenn Ortmann, Director of Planning and Development for the City of Rochester, Sylvia von Aulock, Planner for the Town of Exeter, and Ben Frost, Director of Public Affairs at New Hampshire Housing.  

This FREE program was developed by The Workforce Housing Coalition of the Greater Seacoast and Rockingham Planning Commission.  Additional sponsors include Donahue, Tucker & Ciandella, PLLC and Strafford Regional Planning. 

Seating is limited so please register in advance by emailing lisa@seacoastwhc.org or calling (603) 205-0539.

Join us for the first Housing Happy Hour of 2012:

“Making the Numbers Work”
Financing Workforce Housing
Thursday, March 8th

5:30-7:30pm Jumpin’ Jay’s Fish Café –
150 Congress Street, Portsmouth NH
$12 – Members; $15 – Non-Members
Payable at the door

RSVP to Lisa Henderson at lisa@seacoastwhc.org

Networking 5:30-6:15pm. Program 6:15-7:30pm.
Light appetizers and cash bar available.

LIHTC, NMTC, CDBG, FHLB-AHP*… Nope, not alphabet soup. These are acronyms for critical financing sources for the development of rental workforce housing. Hear how developers piece together these sources to “make the numbers work.”

Panelists:

Ted Wilkinson – Program Manager – Multifamily Underwriting New Hampshire Housing Finance Authority

Marty Chapman – Executive Director
The Housing Partnership

FREE “BUTTON UP NH” WEATHERIZATION WORKSHOP TO BE HELD ON FEBRUARY 21ST AT RIVERWOODS AT EXETER

A free “Button Up NH” Weatherization Workshop will be held on Tuesday, February 21st from 11am – noon at The Boulders Campus of RiverWoods at Exeter. The Workforce Housing Coalition of the Greater Seacoast, the Town of Exeter Energy Committee and ReVision Energy are sponsors of this free workshop, which will be facilitated by certified energy professionals who will provide attendees with information and techniques to save money on home energy use. Please pre-register by contacting: lisa@seacoastwhc.org or (603) 205-0539. The snow date is February 23rd.

Home heating prices are predicted to rise by another 10% this season and this workshop will offer information on reducing fuel and electricity use via basic air sealing & insulation techniques, finding technical and financial resources, identifying sources of energy waste and easy do-it-yourself conservation measures.

The workshops are free and open to the public, thanks to funding provided by the N.H. Office of Energy and Planning from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. A total of 40 workshops will be held across NH in the next few months with the hopes of helping NH residents save money on their fuel bills. This UNH-based program is a collaboration with Clean Air-Cool Planet, Plymouth Area Renewable Energy Initiative (PAREI), UNH Cooperative Extension, and the Lakes Region Community College.

For more information on attending a Button Up NH workshop or getting a jump start on saving money on energy this winter, visit: http://myenergyplan.net/buttonup