
Downtown Portsmouth from the air. Service Credit Union wants to build up to 350 homes for its employees and workers at other major local companies next to its headquarters south of the city’s historic core. iStock photo
Instead of just bemoaning the lack of affordable housing for many of its nearly 1,000 employees, Service Credit Union is actually doing something about it.
The credit union, which has more than $5.7 billion in assets and branches around the globe serving members of the U.S. military, has tentatively proposed building a new residential complex on 25 acres of land it owns behind its current headquarters and branch building at 3003 Lafayette Road in Portsmouth.
No final plan has been submitted yet to city officials.
The credit union is still seeking neighborhood and professional input into the design of the potential project, via so-called open “charrette” meetings organized by the Workforce Housing Coalition of Greater Seacoast, a nonprofit housing advocacy group.
But Mike Mulhern, who is managing the Lafayette Road housing project on behalf of Service CU, said his institution is hoping to eventually build 300 to 350 units on the site, with most if not all of them qualifying as affordable. The tentative idea is to have a combination of rental apartments, condominiums and some retail space at the site.
Service Credit Union hopes to file an official project plan with the city by the end of this year, or early 2025, and then get final zoning and building approvals so that project organizers can apply for housing tax credits from the state by June 2025, Muhlhern said.
“We’re not just sitting around the boardroom talking about the housing shortage problem we have in New Hampshire,” said Mulhern, the former head of real estate lending at Service Credit Union. “We want to do something about it. We want to be part of the solution.”
Major Employers Could Have Roll
Besides investing its own time, land and funds into the ambitious project, Service CU has also reached out to major employers in the Portsmouth area to see if they’re interested in co-developing the Lafayette Road site – and providing affordable housing in the process for some of their own employees.
Ben VanCamp, president and chief collaboration officer at the Chamber Collaborative of Greater Portsmouth, said representatives from Service Credit Union and about 10 major employers in the area met late last year about possibly cooperating on the housing development for employees and others in the area.
No commitments were made by other potential investors – and no commitments are expected until final plans and costs are hammered out, VanCamp said.
But Service Credit Union’s development idea is definitely intriguing to other employers, who are also struggling to hire and keep employees amid an acute housing shortage in New Hampshire.
“There’s certainly interest among those in the business community,” VanCamp said. “There’s a real need for workforce housing out there. The lack of housing is probably tops on the list of employers’ concerns these days.”
Likely Biggest, But Not Only One
VanCamp said Service Credit Union’s proposal is just the latest move by a New Hampshire employer to provide affordable housing for its workforce.
Last November, John and Maggie Randolph, owners of the Harmony Homes Assisted Living Center in Durham, announced tenants were ready to move into their new Cottages at Back River Road, a 44-unit “tiny home” cottage development in Dover aimed at providing rentals for young workers.
VanCamp also said some larger restaurant-group owners have rented apartments for some of their hard-pressed workers who can’t find affordable housing in the region.
But those measures are not nearly as ambitious as Service Credit Union’s plan.
Nick Taylor, executive director of the Workforce Housing Coalition of Greater Seacoast, said his group is not a financial partner in the project.
But it is helping Service Credit Union reach out to neighbors and others about the Lafayette Road proposal – and to get their input on the project.
“The idea is to have a transparent process at an early stage of the project,” said Taylor, whose group helped organized two meetings last month concerning the 3003 Lafayette site. “People appreciate an open process. People like to know that their opinions matter.”
Site’s Zoning Could Help
One of last month’s so-called “charrette” meetings was for neighbors, who were invited to hear Service Credit Union’s general concept for the site. About 40 people attended the meeting.
Though no opposition was openly voiced, some neighbors were concerned about a new complex’s potential traffic and parking, while others worried about the scale and size of new buildings on the site, Taylor said.
“They don’t want big apartment buildings just plopped on the property,” said Taylor. “They want it to have a neighborhood feel.”
Taylor said he’s hopeful a final plan will win necessary approvals from the city, particularly since the site falls within one of Portsmouth’s new “Gateway” zoning districts designed for mixed-use developments.
Service Credit Union’s Mulhern said planners agree that the aesthetics of any project have to work in a historic city like Portsmouth.
“People don’t want big-box buildings. They want the designs to fit it. We’re attuned to the aesthetic concerns.”
Still, a key to the affordability aspect of the development is how many units will be allowed on the site.
“Density allowance is big,” Muhlhern said. “The more density, the more affordable the [project] gets.”
Howard Snyder, a housing navigator in the city of Portsmouth’s Planning and Sustainability Department, said he can’t comment on Service Credit Union’s proposal until it files official plans and details.
Besides residential units, a final development plan could include a small amount of retail space, such as for a laundromat or a day-care center, said Muhlhern
But the main goal of the plan is simply building more housing – affordable workforce housing.
“We’re all suffering from this housing crisis,” said Muhlhern. “We desperately need more workforce housing in New Hampshire.”