The Executive Council has approved nearly $50 million in state money from the $100 million InvestNH initiative that will help get over a dozen development projects off the ground. 

In total, the projects receiving grants represent 1,472 housing units from Nashua to Berlin, including the 224-unit Gateway at Exeter in Exeter, 156-unit Mcintosh Dover Apartments in Dover and 153-unit Stevens Mill development in Franklin. 

The $49.51 million in forgivable loans were awarded on a competitive basis, the state Department of Business and Economic Affairs said in a filing with the Executive Council. The funds will function as a line of credit, the BEA said. 

“Together, these programs are designed to get more affordable rental units to market faster by addressing significant increases in hard costs, such as inflationary pressures in the construction industry, that have delayed otherwise ‘shovel-ready’ projects,” BEA Commissioner Taylor Caswell wrote in the filing.  

Developers who received the funds commit to various affordability restrictions and pledge to begin construction within 18 months of getting the money.