Champlin Place affordable housing celebrated with more needed: 'I love it here'
ROCHESTER — A celebration of the new Champlin Place senior affordable housing complex was joyous Monday. Residents and leaders paid tribute to Easterseals for the project and held it up as a model.
"I'm home," said Donna Horne, as her tiny dog ZuZu peeked out of her pocket, to the delight of children who spotted her. "I moved away from New Hampshire and always regretted it, always wanted to come back home."
Horne said she searched online, hoping to find an affordable senior living spot. She feels blessed to have found Champlin Place.
"I love it here so much," she said. "We are becoming a true community. We look out for each other. We make friends."
"They are home," said Maureen Beauregard, president and CEO of Easterseals New Hampshire and Vermont, speaking to the gathering. "Welcome home. This housing is all about you. Live your best lives here without worrying about rent going up $1,000."
Easterseals' Champlin Place is an affordable apartment community for ages 62-plus in Rochester.It sits on 20 acres of land and all 65 apartments are filled. There is already a waiting list. The independent living center includes common rooms, laundry facilities and a lending library is quickly forming. The apartments are one- and two-bedroom units and small pets are welcome.
Previous story: Affordable senior housing at Champlin Place resident: "I finally feel I can relax"
Rents are based on a person's income and start at $1,100 to $1,200 per month for one bedroom, and $1,300-$1,400 for two bedrooms. Twenty-five apartments are based on a voucher program.
Affordable housing praised, while more is needed
"This place is a great example of what can be done with affordable housing," said Republican Gov. Chris Sununu. "It is beautiful and has great amenities. It's the place you want to be, and we need to make it a model for the rest of the state."
Sen. Maggie Hassan, D-New Hampshire, said, "This place is a beautiful, safe place to call home, and I congratulate all the teamwork that made this happen. This is a wonderful community, but there is still work to be done."
Hassan and Rep. Chris Pappas, D-New Hampshire, both vowed to continue working to increase access to the low-income tax credits that helped Champlin Place go from a dream at Easterseals to a reality.
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Beauregard thanked Rochester city officials for working with Easterseals.
"What a beautiful place," said Mayor Paul Callaghan. "When I first heard about this project, and knowing Easterseals is a rock star organization; I said, 'How do we make it happen?'"
Other speakers represented New Hampshire Housing, Evernorth, Citizens Bank, New Hampshire Community Development Finance Authority, Hutter Construction, all groups who partnered on the Champlin Place development.
Easterseals working on two more projects in NH
Gamman Academy in Manchester will be a residential education center for children ages 5-21, according to Michelle Talwani, Easterseals spokesperson. Talwani said the kids will be those whose special needs might prevent them from succeeding in a more traditional school setting.
"Districts will recommend the students and they will come from all over New England," she said. "We currently have two of this type of school in Manchester, but they are in refurbished buildings. The Gamman center will replace those and be more modern with larger classroom spaces."
The Gamman Academy is expected to open in December.
A veterans' campus in Franklin is in phase one of three. Talwani said the first phase will have 30 units of affordable housing and conference spaces for use by the military and first responders. In phases two and three there are plans to bring in veterans' services organization and a VA clinic
"We need to raise about $19 million to complete this," Talwani said. "We will make it happen. These are all our centers of excellence, our goals."
This article originally appeared on Fosters Daily Democrat: Champlin Place affordable housing celebrated in Rochester
