The Manchester Housing Authority (MHA) is responsible for managing state-owned housing for seniors, disabled individuals, and lower-income families. Members of the housing authority board are elected by town residents or, with one position, appointed by the governor. The housing authority is not a town entity but rather a quasi-independent state agency. The MHA manages three properties in town — Newport Park, off Pine Street; The Plains, off Old Essex Road; and a few family units on Loading Place Road. Low-cost housing is provided to eligible individuals and families.
The apartments were built decades ago. Having sufficient funds to properly maintain the units has been a constant struggle for the MHA. State funds for capital improvements have been sorely lacking, and the years of deferred maintenance readily can be seen in the buildings. To say the least, the buildings are showing their age.
The first step is to select a potential development partner who would work with the MHA in developing a plan to renovate or replace the existing housing that MHA manages and to add additional housing to the properties. The new partner will be selected through a competitive process that is now underway. The additional housing would be a combination of market rate and restricted affordable housing units. The concept here is to attract private dollars through the offer of state-owned land to build new rental units in exchange for renovating and maintaining for the long term the existing housing stock under MHA control.
After choosing a development partner, the MHA and the developer (possibly a private, non-profit) will work to create a redevelopment and expansion plan. This plan would become the basis for a grant application to the state for funding for up to $80,000 per current MHA unit for their rehabilitation (a total of some $6 million for Manchester).
The grant award would be contingent on the MHA and the developer securing all necessary permits and funding, a process that could take a couple of years. Included in this process would be ample time for public input on any proposed expansions on MHA lands.
Obviously, there are lots of moving parts here and the MHA is at the early stage of a multi-step process. It may be that renovating the existing units and adding housing to the MHA properties is not financially viable even with a state grant. But if it is, it may prove to be a way to provide the needed renovations to or replacement of the existing MHA units and add to the diversity of our housing stock in town, an important goal identified in our new master plan.
