About the Greater Nashua Workforce Housing Coalition
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Mission Statement

Greater Nashua Workforce Housing Coalition is a partnership of business, government, and community based organizations. We serve as a catalyst for the development of affordable housing options for our region’s diverse workforce.

Background

Community Assessments in 1998, 2002, 2005 and 2008 facilitated by United Way of Greater Nashua documented the scope of the affordable housing crisis in our region.

In August of 2002 the Mayor of Nashua convened a Task Force on Housing. The Task Force summarized its findings in December 2003 at an event hosted by the Nashua Chamber of Commerce, and analyzed the problem in a report in both statistical and human terms.

At the same time, United Way was undergoing a strategic planning process that included a transition to “community impact”—focusing more on intended outcomes (changed community conditions that improve lives) and less on the traditional strategies of fundraising and funding direct services. As a result, United Way’s Board of Directors earmarked 20 percent of general fund campaign contributions in the coming years for an “Affordable Housing Initiative” and anticipates a multi-year commitment for this purpose. However, neither United Way nor any other organization can solve the problem of affordable housing alone. Many interests must be actively involved. With this in mind, United Way convened a group to discuss the issue of workforce housing. The group, now called the Greater Nashua Workforce Housing Coalition (GNWHC), has evolved into the focal point of a community-wide initiative that seeks to increase the availability of affordable housing among working households in the area communities of Amherst, Brookline, Hollis, Hudson, Litchfield, Lyndeborough, Merrimack, Milford, Mont Vernon, Nashua, and Wilton.

Today, Greater Nashua Workforce Housing Coalition is a business-led effort, which recognizes the link between housing availability and regional economic vitality. We are working to educate the region about the need for a balanced supply of housing, advocate for a streamlined regulatory environment, and support developers committed to creating quality, workforce housing. Together our efforts will stimulate the approval and construction of a significant number of units that might not otherwise be built.

The goals of the Greater Nashua Workforce Housing Coalition (GNWHC) are to:

  • Develop broad-based interest and support for the need for affordable/workforce housing within the Greater Nashua region with particular focus on local employers,
  • Collaborate with regional and statewide groups that promote workforce housing,
  • Focus public outreach/engagement efforts on housing’s impact on economic vitality, and
  • Encourage workforce housing production by promoting best practices/”smart growth” development.

Steering Committee

  
  Michael Dell Orfano Coldbrook Holdings
  Rhonda Della Sala St. Joseph Hospital
  Jay Dinkel Hampshire First Bank
  Mark Fougere Fougere Planning & Development
  Jay Leonard Friel Golf Management Co.
  Donnalee Lozeau Mayor, City of Nashua
  Don Mattise United Way of Greater Nashua
  Bill Parker Milford Planning Department
  Ray Peterson United Way of Greater Nashua
  Doug Rupert Milford Rotary Club
  Kevin Slattery Etchstone Properties
  Judy Vincent Greater Nashua Workforce Housing
  Brad Westgate Winer and Bennett, LLP
  Chris Williams Greater Nashua Chamber of Commerce
  Organizational affiliation is for identification purposes only

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