New Hampshire’s $100 million housing investment, InvestNH, is starting to pay off.
“InvestNH was absolutely critical in allowing more housing to be built,” said developer Jack Franks.
Franks, president and CEO of Avanru Development Group, said InvestNH’s help was key to some of his new affordable housing projects in Newport, Swanzey, and Hillsborough.
“Hillsborough would not have happened,” Franks pointed out.
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Polls consistently show housing costs are a top priority for Granite Staters, and many of the state’s employers say housing is one their biggest challenges in attracting quality workers. Using federal ARPA relief funds to get more apartments and homes built, InvestNH is making a difference, though there’s still a long way to go.
“This crisis is not going to be solved overnight, but we are working with local leaders to get them the resources they need to match housing needs in their community,” said Department of Business and Economic Affairs Commissioner Taylor Caswell.
Administered by the BEA, InvestNH has already impacted more than 4,657 new housing units throughout the state, according to Caswell, with more to come.
BEA worked through InvestNH to create a capital grant program to fund the development of affordable housing; a demolition program to assist municipalities in preparing for or addressing housing challenges and project developments in older dilapidated properties; a per-unit incentive grant program that awarded municipalities $10,000 per unit of approved affordable housing, and the Housing Opportunities program, which assisted 67 communities to review and develop planning and zoning strategies to facilitate appropriate housing in their towns.
“The goal with these one-time funds has been to help accelerate affordable housing units getting to market and setting the stage for more private investment in affordable housing statewide by providing incentives and resources to local communities,” Caswell said.
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BEA used InvestNH to fund: $64 million for the Capital Grant program that impacted 1,605 new units; $16.2 million for the Per Unit Grants program that impacted 1,910 units; $11.5 for the Demolition Grants program that impacted 2,302 units; and $7.9 million for the Housing Opportunity Planning Grants program that went to 67 communities throughout the state.
BEA’s new state Housing Champions program will soon be able to continue the InvestNH programs, thanks to state general funds totaling $15 million.
Even with InvestNH, New Hampshire has a vacancy rate of around 1 percent or less, according to Franks, leaving Granite Staters to pay more for rent or looking out of state for a decent home they can afford.
“It’s beyond critical mass at this point. It’s at absurdity, the amount of housing that’s needed in the state,” Franks said.
Of his three new developments, two were fully rented soon after opening. Both the Swanzey and Newport apartment projects now have waiting lists, and the Hillsborough development is taking applications now.
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The biggest obstacle to building more affordable housing that Franks encounters are the sometimes redundant and contradictory local regulations that slow construction, or stymie projects altogether. Franks hopes incoming Gov. Kelly Ayotte will work to streamline those regulations and cut the red tape that make the housing crisis worse.
Ayotte told NHJournal she’s ready to help.
“Tackling New Hampshire’s housing crisis is a key priority for my administration — we need more housing for our workforce, our seniors, our families, and every community across our state,” Ayotte said. “As Governor, I’ll work to streamline the state permitting process, cut unnecessary red tape that creates barriers to construction, and bring stakeholders together to discuss how we can incentivize construction of more affordable housing while respecting local control. Working together, we’ll keep New Hampshire moving in the right direction.”
WILTON, N.H. (WHDH) – A woman died in a Wilton, New Hampshire, house fire Wednesday morning, according to the New Hampshire State Fire Marshal’s Office.
At 9:08 a.m., Wilton firefighters responded to Burns Hill Road after a caller said their home was filling up with smoke. When they arrived, a single-family home was on fire and they found out two people were still inside on the second floor.
A man and a woman were both taken out of the house by firefighters and taken to Elliott Hospital. The woman was pronounced dead and the man is in serious condition.
Officials have not released the name of the victim at this time.
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At this time, investigators are looking into the cause of the fire and are trying to determine if a power outage in the area played a factor. The fire is not currently considered suspicious.
(Copyright (c) 2025 Sunbeam Television. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
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Diane Durgin, 67, is accused of shooting at a Black man who inadvertently drove to her property after a prearranged truck part sale, prosecutors said.
A New Hampshire woman is accused of violating the state’s Civil Rights Act four times after she allegedly shot at a man because he was Black, prosecutors said.
Diane Durgin, 67, of Weare, N.H. could face up to a $5,000 fine for each violation she is found to have committed, the office of New Hampshire Attorney General John Formella said in a press release Tuesday.
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Durgin is also charged with criminal threatening against a person with a deadly weapon and attempted first degree assault with a deadly weapon, Michael Garrity, a media representative for the New Hampshire Attorney General, said in an emailed statement to Boston.com.
Durgin had a final pre-trial conference last week, Garrity said.
In a civil complaint filed Tuesday, Durgin is accused of threatening physical force against the victim, the AG said. Prosecutors asked the court to issue a preliminary injunction barring Durgin from repeating her alleged behavior and from contacting the victim and his family.
During the morning hours of Oct. 20, 2024, the victim claims, he “mistakenly” drove to Durgin’s home after a prearranged purchase of a truck part with a seller online, prosecutors wrote as part of their request for an injunction.
When the man — whom prosecutors identified in court documents as X.G. — arrived, Durgin allegedly stepped out of her home and approached his car with a gun “holstered by her waist,” prosecutors wrote.
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Upon noticing that X.G. was Black, Durgin allegedly “removed her gun and pointed it at X.G.,” prosecutors said in the injunction request.
While X.G. explained that he was lost, Durgin called the victim a “Black mother[expletive],” and threatened to “kill him,” prosecutors allege.
As the victim attempted to drive away, Durgin allegedly took her gun and fired two shots at the fleeing man’s car, missing both times, the AG’s office said.
While on the phone with a dispatcher, Durgin allegedly said she shot the man’s car because the victim is Black, the AG said.
“The guy is Black. And he, he…he says he’s meeting someone here and I think he’s coming here to steal,” Durgin allegedly said.
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Police located X.G. and brought him to the Weare Police Department, stopping along the way at the correct seller’s home to complete the truck part purchase, prosecutors wrote in court documents.
To prove a violation of the New Hampshire Civil Rights Act, the AG must show that Durgin “interfered or attempted to interfere with the rights of the victim to engage in lawful activities by threatening to engage in or actually engage in physical force or violence, when such actual or threatening conduct was motivated by race, color, religion, national origin, ancestry, sexual orientation, sex, gender identity, or disability,” prosecutors said.
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