Portsmouth leaders renew push for affordable housing, calling it their 'duty'

PORTSMOUTH — The co-chairs of the recently re-established city Housing Blue Ribbon Committee are committed to developing a below-market-rate housing project at the former Sherburne School.

Assistant Mayor Joanna “Jo” Kelley and City Councilor John Tabor will serve as leaders of the committee, which is scheduled to hold its first meeting this week.

Kelley and Tabor said the city-owned former Sherburne School presents the council with a unique opportunity to partner with a nonprofit — most likely the Portsmouth Housing Authority — to develop a below-market-rate housing project.

“That is definitely one of the goals of the committee,” Kelley said.

'Duty' to get housing project done

Voters re-elected the entire nine-member City Council in November even though they failed to make good on their priority of creating more affordable housing in the city during their first term.

Kelley believes their re-election shows they received a mandate from the voters to address the lack of affordable housing in Portsmouth. She pledged to make the hope for an affordable housing project at what is now the Robert Lister Academy a reality during this term.

“I haven’t been shy about this, I think it’s my duty to get a project done, even if that costs me a re-election,” Kelley said this week. The assistant mayor added she’s “willing to expend all the political capital to make sure people have a place to live.”

She believes that Portsmouth is “past the point of no return” when it comes to addressing its “housing crisis.”

“At some point, we’re not just talking about low income, we’re talking about people with middle incomes not being able to afford to live here,” Kelley said.

More: Portsmouth residents call out 'urgent' need for middle- and low-income housing

In terms of a timeline for a project at the former Sherburne School, Kelley said she is “committed to getting shovels in the ground” or having a project totally approved “by the time this (council) term is over.”

The current City Council term expires at the end of 2025.

Second attempt to create housing at Sherburne School site

The city pitched a plan to develop as many as 80 to 160 housing units in a partnership with the Portsmouth Housing Authority at the former elementary school in early 2023.

The number of units was quickly dropped to 80 to 100 after residents of the nearby Pannaway Manor neighborhood pushed back against the proposal.

The council ultimately scrapped the project entirely, with the plan to bring a new proposal back in 2024 after reestablishing the Housing Committee.

Kelley acknowledged in order to win the support of the community, a new project at the Sherburne School will have to be sized correctly.

“Everything in terms of development is balance, balance in terms of aesthetics and balance of size,” Kelley said.

Setting a target number of housing units for soon-to-be vacant site

Tabor, who is co-chairing the Blue Ribbon committee with Kelley, said he’d like to see the committee “set a realistic number of below market units we can create.”

“Once we have that target number … Sherburne certainly is a waiting opportunity for us if we want to create below-market housing.”

The former elementary school is currently the site of Portsmouth’s alternative high school, Lister Academy, which is moving to the Community Campus beginning in the 2024-25 school year.

“Sherburne has a big advantage, it’s going to be vacant, it’s going to have no use,” Tabor said about the city-owned site. The city could partner with the Portsmouth Housing Authority, which has already committed to working with the city, he said.

Previously officials have talked about leasing the land to the PHA, which could then pay to develop the site and manage the housing project created there.

Portsmouth has seen a housing boom over the last 10 years, but the large majority of units created have rented or sold at market rate.

Model for successful housing project in downtown Portsmouth

During a recent city meeting where multiple residents urged officials to act quickly to address the housing crisis, many also pointed to the success of the PHA’s Ruth Griffin housing development, which opened with 64 units in 2022.

The project, which was developed and built by the PHA, features below-market rate housing in the heart of Portsmouth’s popular downtown.

Tabor pointed to the project, calling it a “wonderful success story” and said it could be “a template for success moving forward.”

Tabor acknowledged that the entire council promised to create more affordable housing, and said a project at Sherburne could make those promises a reality.

“I think we want to get those wins,” Tabor said.

Many have been forced to move out of Portsmouth

He pointed out that there’s been “a lot of people who have had their rents raised 20 to 30 to 50%” in Portsmouth.

“They have to look at moving to Farmington, Barrington or Rochester,” he said. “That’s not good for the city. We’re building lots of housing, but it’s all for the top 20%.”

He referenced the recent Portsmouth Listens Housing Dialogue, where residents called for action to address the issue.

“We’re well past time as a city to create some below-market housing,” he said.

That could be done by changing city zoning to incentivize developers to build affordable housing, or by working on multiple housing projects with nonprofits, Tabor said.

“I think if we want to get into the hundreds of units as a goal, we’re going to have to do a number of projects, not just one,” he said. “Some of them may not be with PHA, they may be with private developers.

“In terms of creative approaches, we’ve got to put the meter on 10,” Tabor added.

Mayor in favor of moving fast at Sherburne School site

Mayor Deaglan McEachern said in terms of developing a new project at the Sherburne School site, “the goal is to move quickly."

But at the same time, he stressed the importance of “involving the community” and getting support from Pannaway Manor.

“In the next month or two, we’d like to have a recommendation back to the council,” he said this week.

He also stressed the importance of determining the right “size and scope” for a new project there.

The first meeting of the reestablished committee is set for Thursday, March 7.

The meeting, which is open to the public, will begin at 5:30 p.m. and will be held in the School Department Conference Room in City Hall.

Other members of the committee are Megan Corsetti, Tracy Kozak, Mary Loane, Byron Matto, Dagan Migirditch, John O’Leary, Jen Stebbins Thomas and Erik Anderson.

This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: Portsmouth renews push for affordable housing at Sherburne School