A luxurious new apartment complex known as Lofts 34 is now open along the Nashua River. Featuring 200 units inside a renovated former factory, this spectacular property gives residents access to amenities such as an indoor putting green, a pet washing station and a theater room with cinema-style seating.

“One of our goals in Nashua is to bring as many new people downtown as we possibly can, and this is a tremendous addition to the city,” Mayor Jim Donchess said during a Thursday tour of Lofts 34.

As with the already established Clocktower Place and Cotton Mill properties, the new loft apartment complex should bring out-of-town residents to Nashua. While the property is likely to draw tenants from Boston or New York City, the newcomers should expect to pay as much as $3,000 per month for an apartment at Lofts 34.

Meanwhile, just a few blocks away, officials with the Nashua Soup Kitchen and Shelter are working to renovate the former Sacred Heart School building so that it can provide refuge to members of the city’s growing homeless population.

Additionally, with temperatures falling, community service organizations are scrambling to make sure there is enough space inside Nashua homeless shelters so that people will not be left out in frigid conditions.

We cannot help but be struck by such a stark juxtaposition right in the heart of our city. While we certainly welcome developments such as Lofts 34, public officials at all levels – city, state and federal – should work to address the ongoing shortage of affordable rental housing in Nashua.