New Salem Affordable Housing Project For Veterans And Seniors Lands $3M In Federal Funding

SALEM, NH — A new affordable housing project for veterans and seniors has landed a $3 million federal grant to construct 23 new units of housing on Millville Street.

The project, however, remains about $5 million short, while hundreds of people are on a very long wait list, according to officials.

Millville Heights Apartments is slated to be built next to Millville Arms, on the current footprint of the housing authority’s community room, for about $9 million, according to Sheri McCloskey, the executive director of the Salem Housing Authority. The one-bedroom apartments will range in price from $775 to $1,550. Each apartment is 700 square feet. Five of the 23 units will be accessible to people with disabilities. Four will be wheelchair friendly, with roll-in showers, she said. There will be a preference for the slots for veterans who were 62 years and older, McCloskey said.

The units will be available to residents in the 30 percent to 80 percent area median income range, with the bulk of units, 17, at 50 percent of area median income range. In Rockingham County, the 50 percent area median income range for one person is around $49,200 annually; for Salem, it is around $49,450 to $57,900, according to HUD data.

McCloskey thanked U.S. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-NH, for securing the $3 million in Congressionally directed spending funds for the projects.

“Millville Heights represents more than new housing here in Salem,” McCloskey said. “This project represents stability, dignity, and support for our seniors and veterans who have contributed so much and deserve a safe, affordable place to call home.”

McCloskey said the project will start with demolishing the current community room structure and then building out from that footprint. The building will also include three small offices for the authority. McCloskey said not all the funding had been secured for the project. The housing authority is filing a third application to NH Housing in September to secure a tax reservation of $5.5 million to move forward on the project. Twice before, she noted, they had been turned down but were “very hopeful that this year will be our year.” The authority should know whether it has the funding for next year in mid-December. The authority would convey the land’s value and also put another $250,000 toward the project.

At the event, Shaheen asked about the waiting list, noting housing was “a huge challenge” in New Hampshire, as well as the process for accessing the units.

McCloskey said SHA had two wait lists: a public housing wait list with more than 200 people, with timelines ranging from three to five years.

“We don’t have a lot of turnover with our units,” McCloskey said. “So folks are on that wait list a long time.”

The second wait list, an affordable housing wait list, has approximately 35 to 40 people on it, she said. McCloskey said there were veterans on both lists. A wait list for the Millville Heights Apartments has not been started, but McCloskey said filling the building would not be an issue when considering the current wait lists.

When Shaheen asked if families were on that list, McCloskey said that list was for disabled people and those who are 62 years and older. Most tenants for the housing authority are over 62, although a few are under that age and qualified due to a disability.

The building will be considered affordable housing, McCloskey told Shaheen.

McCloskey said the authority hoped to secure the rest of the funding by August 2027 for a 2028 opening.

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