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CONCORD, NH — Last week, the Concord City Council authorized up to one million dollars in Community Development Block Grants to facilitate the transformation of two structures downtown into premises for nonprofit organizations.

Both 6 S. State St. and 27 Warren St. are eligible for a maximum of $500,000 each in grant funding but will be used for two distinctly different purposes.

6 State St 🏠 :

The property will be developed into eight housing units to support people exiting homelessness.

The Concord Coalition to End Homelessness has taken out an option to buy the South Congregational Church’s building located between Wall and Pleasant streets, built in the late 1800s. They intend to convert the business premises, already containing two residences, into eight single-bedroom flats for homeless individuals.

According to Matt Walsh, interim deputy city manager-development of the municipality, they will also install a tiny office space and laundry room within the development.

The estimated expense for the project is $2.3 million, most of which will go to transforming the building into apartments. Additionally, the organization has its sights set on grants from the New Hampshire Housing Finance Authority and other federal funding sources to assist in completing this endeavor.

27 Warren St 🏠 :

Thanks to assistance from the Concord City Council, the Crisis Center of Central New Hampshire will be able to open a new office space dedicated to supporting victims of domestic violence.

The Crisis Center of Central New Hampshire has recently acquired an option to purchase the Warren Street building. Walsh highlighted that it won’t be a problem since both the property owner and Warren Street Architects have already vacated.

The 1890s building has 3,800 square feet of space, which will help the Center service 1,500 clients of low-to-moderate incomes.

They believe that $800,000 will suffice for the renovation cost, though an exact number has not been determined yet. Additionally, they are looking into additional grants and loans from banks to fund this project.

Two years prior, the city acquire approximately $357,000 in block grant money to support renovations of the Center. 

In October 2022, the city initiated a request for proposals, according to Walsh. Thirty-six organizations expressed interest but only two organizations submitted their bids; The Coalition and the Crisis Center. 

The council took five votes to approve the funding:

  • Two votes on each block grant proposal.
  • Two resolutions readopting the city’s anti-displacement relocation policy.
  • One for the statement procedures to support the applications for each proposal.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development administrates the federal program, of block grants through the New Hampshire Community Development Finance Authority. Since 1976, the city has accessed more than $24 million in funds. We are happy that this year we will keep working on making more nonprofit projects for our citizens. 

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