BY Maggie | FILED UNDER: UPPER VALLEY | ON May 24, 2018 | TAGGED: dartmouth college, hartford vt, housing, lebanon nh
You can take the survey, which was shared on the listerve by Ronald G. Shaiko, at this link:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/UVhousing
It’s 25 questions long (so, like, 3½ Lucky 7 News Quizzes).
Housing has been in the news a lot recently. We profiled developer Mike Davidson over the weekend (and this morning followed up about his negative reaction to a Lebanon city councilor’s comments in that story).
Earlier this month we had a story about development in WRJ, where new apartments are renting in the $700 to $800 range, while residence at an assisted-living facility will start at $8,400 a month.
Affordable housing is difficult to come by even if you’re buying, according to this story from April: “Real estate agents say they can’t recall a time when the balance between supply and demand has been so far out of whack. … Moreover, the further down the pay scale, the more difficult it becomes to find affordable housing in the Upper Valley.”
That’s because, according to Twin Pines Housing Trust estimates from March, the Upper Valley generally has a less than 3 percent vacancy rate. Barry Bluestone, a Northeastern professor and director of the Dukakis Center for Urban and Regional Policy, argues that a healthy rate is 6 to 7 percent.

The apartment building at 18 Mahan Street in Lebanon, N.H., on May 8, 2018, is one of the properties owned by developer Mike Davidson’s Execusuite. (Valley News – Geoff Hansen) Copyright Valley News. May not be reprinted or used online without permission. Send requests to permission@vnews.com.
BY Amanda | FILED UNDER: UPPER VALLEY | ON January 20, 2018 | TAGGED: bills, housing, New Hampshire, radio
New Hampshire Public Radio is seeking input from residents on the cost of living in the state. Learn more below.
BY Maggie | FILED UNDER: UPPER VALLEY | ON September 20, 2017 | TAGGED: housing, lebanon nh

Conceptual drawing by Execusuite, LLC.
From today’s Valley News:
An established Upper Valley developer is proposing to build a six-story apartment complex behind Lebanon’s old junior high school*.
Mike Davidson said on Tuesday that the project on the 7.4-acre school property he acquired in 2013 would provide much-needed housing in the city without contributing to urban sprawl.
Plans call for 66 one-bedroom and studio units to be built in a roughly 75-foot-tall building behind the former junior high school, just south of the Northern Rail Trail.
“Our hope is to build a high-quality structure that takes advantage of the downtown amenities and infrastructure without harming the aesthetic of the surrounding area,” Davidson said in an email on Tuesday. “The location is tucked down behind the old junior high off to the side and at a lower elevation. It will be substantially shielded by the school.”
*The address is 75 Bank St. There’s a map at the Valley News story.
BY Amanda | FILED UNDER: Everywhere Else | ON August 24, 2017 | TAGGED: 603, housing, New Hampshire
The houses may be small, but the demand for such spaces is big — and getting bigger.
Henniker, N.H.-based home construction company Tiny Living Spaces is a young operation that specializes in building mobile tiny homes “you can actually live in,” according to builder Seth Murdough. Our sister paper The Concord Monitor recently did a feature story on the company and one of the tiny houses it’s currently working on. Check it out below.
BY Maggie | FILED UNDER: UPPER VALLEY | ON July 20, 2017 | TAGGED: housing, lebanon nh, twin pines housing trust, upper valley haven

Shawn Westover carries his bicycle down the steps of his apartment complex at 10 Parkhurst St., in Lebanon, N.H., on Wednesday, July 17, 2017. Westover said that he will be moving out when the building is renovated to accomodate low-income residents. (Valley News – Charles Hatcher) Copyright Valley News. May not be reprinted or used online without permission. Send requests to permission@vnews.com.
From this morning’s paper:
Twin Pines Housing Trust is proposing to purchase 10 Parkhurst St. and renovate the building’s 18 studio apartments to serve the chronically homeless, people who have been without housing for 12 continuous months or on four separate occasions over the last three years. …
The Upper Valley Haven, a White River Junction-based homeless shelter, will maintain a presence in the building, providing case management to keep residents housed.
“When people have a place to live that is decent, safe and sanitary, they are much more likely to have better health outcomes,” Andrew Winter, executive director of Twin Pines, said on Wednesday.
Read more.