Keene council approves CDBG application to rehabilitate 657 Marlborough Street building
Loading...
Summary
The Keene City Council unanimously approved a resolution authorizing a CDBG application seeking up to $500,000 to rehabilitate a four‑unit Keene Housing building at 657 Marlborough Street, including lead remediation and energy upgrades; Keene Housing will provide a $250,000 match.
The Keene City Council on Jan. 15 unanimously approved a resolution authorizing a Community Development Block Grant application for the rehabilitation of a four‑unit Keene Housing property at 657 Marlborough Street.
The application seeks up to $500,000 from the Community Development Finance Authority to finance lead remediation, energy‑efficiency upgrades, accessibility work and other repairs to a building constructed in 1875 that currently contains four permanently affordable units. Jack Ahern, associate planner with the Southwest Regional Planning Commission, told the council the structure “is in need of energy efficiency and accessibility upgrades” and that “lead based paint is present throughout the structure and requires some substantial abatement.”
Carolyn Sweet, representing Keene Housing, said two of the four units are currently habitable and the project would restore the remaining two to Keene’s permanently affordable housing stock. “We are not only maintaining 2 units of affordable housing, but we will be adding 2 more units of affordable housing to the city’s affordable housing stock,” Sweet said, and noted Keene Housing will provide $250,000 in matching funds for the project.
Ahern said the building is one of nine properties (48 total units) Keene Housing acquired from Cheshire Housing Trust after its 2021 dissolution and that the proposed work aligns with the city’s housing and community development plan. He also described standard anti‑displacement protections: if the project causes displacement, the Uniform Relocation Act and Section 104(d) of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974 require the city and subrecipients to offer comparable housing and moving assistance and to submit a displacement implementation plan to the CDFA before obligating funds.
Councilors suspended the rules to act on the resolution and voted to adopt it; the motion to adopt was moved by Councilor Mitchell Greenwald and seconded by Councilor Brandy Filio. No council questions were raised after the applicants’ presentation and no members of the public spoke on the item during the public hearing.
The resolution authorizes city staff to pursue the CDBG application but does not by itself commit grant funds or finalize contract terms; follow‑on steps will be required if the CDFA awards the grant.
