Staff photo by Adam Urquhart This dead-end street on the edge of Nashua’s Tree Streets Neighborhood should soon see some improvements, as NeighborWorks Southern New Hampshire received funds from area businesses and charitable sources to redevelop the six-unit property.

NASHUA – As demand for affordable housing in the city continues to exceed supply, the Tree Streets Neighborhood will see some capital improvements on two properties that could serve as new apartment buildings.

Local businesses have helped generate close to $700,000 worth of investment in this neighborhood to improve the condition of housing stock.

Just as other New Hampshire communities experience issues with the quality, cost and availability of housing, Nashua is not immune. NeighborWorks Southern New Hampshire Executive Director Robert Tourigny said housing costs throughout much of Nashua are out of control, but this section of downtown is probably the most affordable part of the city. He said Nashua has some of the highest housing costs in the state.

“Nashua’s housing costs are very high,” Tourigny said.

NeighborWorks Southern New Hampshire has been active in this area to improve existing housing, while expanding the availability of housing in the neighborhood. Tourigny said this began for them when they started doing community impact measurement surveys and neighborhood assessments in 2014. By conducting this work, they gathered a sense of the attitudes and impressions people have toward the neighborhood and what improvements they wanted to see in that area.

“It helps set our direction on where we need to focus our work,” Tourigny said.

He said the support NeighborWorks has received from businesses and charitable sources allowed them to purchase a six-unit property located at 4-14 McLaren Ave. and a two-family property at 48 Ledge St. These two properties are occupied and are set to see capital improvements in 2019. Tourigny said work may begin around February and should be complete sometime in the spring.

“It should move fairly quickly once we get in there,” Tourigny said. “It’s a challenge when buildings are fully occupied to rehab them.”

The nonprofit organization continues looking for properties in a similar state that could be redeveloped.

“There are many positive aspects to the Tree Streets Neighborhood, and improvement in housing in this neighborhood helps to lift the entire city of Nashua,” Tourigny said.

These two properties require a lot of exterior work, as well as some interior work. Tourigny said contractors will be working on the doors, windows, siding, roofing, decks, steps, railings and other areas. He said both properties have about 20 years of deferred maintenance which must me addressed, resulting in an extensive amount of work.

“We’ve known that the quality has deteriorated and that’s what we’re aiming to improve,” Tourigny said.

He said if they can renovate those two properties and make them look better, perhaps owners of nearby buildings will follow the lead.

Tourigny said the demand for rental housing is huge. When new housing or new rental apartments open, they are beautiful, but expensive. He said owners of existing housing stock do not always make improvements until they are needed, or the units’ vacancy rates rise.

“There is a lot of demand for rental housing in Nashua and Southern New Hampshire in general,” Tourigny added.

Adam Urquhart can be reached at 594-1206, or at aurquhart@nashuatelegraph.com.