$20 MILLION DEVELOPMENT TO BE LOCATED NEAR TUSCAN VILLAGE

The Depot & Main project is being built with the help of $20 million in low-income housing tax credits.

Manchester real estate management and development firm Elm Grove Companies has announced it is beginning construction later this month on a $20 million 74-unit affordable housing project in Salem, near the massive Tuscan Village mixed-use development.

Elm Grove, which also is a property management firm, has long managed buildings providing affordable housing, said Matt Menning, principal of the company, but this is its first try at developing affordable units.

It has received $20 million in low-income housing tax credits (LIHTC) for the project, Menning said. The federal LIHTC program provides incentives to developers and investors to create affordable multifamily housing for low and moderate-income families The Depot & Main credits were purchased by RBC (Royal Bank of Canada), as well as tax-exempt bonds issued by the NH Housing Finance Authority and Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds administered by the NH Community Development Finance Authority.

“The market has created a desperate demand for affordable housing solutions for New Hampshire’s workforce,” said Menning. He praised the help of the Royal Bank of Canada and NH Housing, calling them “true partners in bringing this project to fruition.”

Working on the project with Elm Grove are development consultant Steven Lewis, architect Burnell Johnson Architects, general contractor Gary Chicoine Construction Company and Ken Viscarello’s Affordable Housing Group at Sheehan Phinney.

— JEFF FEINGOLD