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Nashua staff outline $5–6M plan for combined resource center, warming station and transitional housing
Summary
City staff described a concept that would combine a 7‑day resource center, a warming station and transitional housing. Staff estimated a $5–6 million project, citing $1.2M in a pending federal allocation, a possible $2M state grant and a not-yet-committed $3M local match.
City staff presented a high-level concept for a combined resource center, warming station and transitional housing project and asked the Human Affairs Committee for feedback on program design and timing.
"We're here to give a brief update on the resource center / warming station project," said Tim Cummings, the city's director of administrative services, as he opened the staff presentation and described the project elements. Cummings said the program would prioritize keeping people "out of the elements," serve roughly 30–50 people and combine a 7‑day resource center with transitional housing components.
Cummings walked the committee through preliminary cost drivers: land-acquisition estimates of about $1,000,000, hard-construction assumptions of roughly $800 per square foot and a conceptual 5,000-square-foot building that would place construction at about $4,000,000; soft costs and contingencies were estimated at roughly $800,000. "That puts us, you know, between a 5 and $6,000,000 project," Cummings said, stressing the numbers are high-level planning estimates.
Director Bobby Bagley, who leads the Division of Public Health and Community Services, told members the city has an invitation-letter for $1.2 million in congressional-directed HUD funding but that award is "pending acceptance" and requires additional steps—such as environmental review—before funds can be drawn down. Bagley said the original HUD request had been $3.6 million but the award letter was for $1.2 million; staff will resubmit a smaller project scope that fits the reduced federal allocation.
Jessica Connors, the city's housing services officer, explained state grant timing: applications to New Hampshire Housing are due in January and the authority generally expects projects to begin some form of construction within about a year of award. "If it's not completed within a year to a year and 0.5 and you have not started construction by that time, they can take the money back," Connors said, summarizing the risk of missing the application window.
The presentation closed with staff framing next steps—accelerate site selection, refine program scope and reconcile funding sources—and with an open request for committee input on whether the committee wants staff to pursue a phased approach to reduce cost and schedule uncertainty.
