Eight New Hampshire projects will share $4.1 million in federal funds from the Northern Border Regional Commission (NBRC). This year, the agency distributed $27 million across four states. A second round of funding will be available to New Hampshire communities this fall.
The NBRC is a federal-state partnership created by Congress in 2008 to alleviate economic challenges in northern counties from New York to Maine. In New Hampshire, projects are eligible for the Catalyst program in all, or portions of, Belknap; Carroll; Cheshire; Coos; Grafton, and Sullivan Counties.
The Department of Business and Economic Affairs (BEA) administers the NBRC’s programs for New Hampshire, working with community leaders and organizations throughout the year providing technical assistance to develop projects.
“NBRC grants make a huge difference in New Hampshire’s rural communities,” said BEA Commissioner Taylor Caswell. “Often these are the kind of projects that get set aside because they need the kind of infusion that NBRC provides them and this funding goes a long way in improving not only infrastructure and business, but the quality of life people enjoy in rural New Hampshire.”
The following projects received awards:
Affordable Housing Education and Development Inc., Whitefield: Receiving $750,000 to renovate the historic Shurtliff Apothecary building on the town’s icon common, to include four residential units and a commercial space.
Antioch University, Keene: Receiving $1 million to renovate the historic Blake House and build a new 34,000-square-foot timber framed educational building, which will house clinical mental health and counseling spaces, as well as classrooms, an academic library, and faculty and departmental offices.
Berlin-Coos County Historical Society, Berlin: Receiving $496,709 to continue developing the organization into a tourist destination, including strategic planning, implementing technology and archival upgrades, and restoring two building housing the society’s collections.
Medallion Opera House, Gorham: Receiving $105,067 to upgrade its sound and lighting systems through the Gorham Cultural Renaissance Project.
Monadnock Conservancy, Keene: Receiving $500,000 to fund four full-time positions, which will enable it to increase its land protection efforts, improve oversight of protected land, maintain and build trails and public access infrastructure, and expand community programs.
Walpole Foundation, Walpole: Receiving $1million to build a 6,510-square-foot facility to house the Walpole Village School, offering early preschool and preschool education for children ages 2 to 5 years, and a community room to host intergenerational and local programming.
Town of Waterville Valley: Receiving $250,000 to select an engineering firm to inspect water treatment facilities and develop a plan to address system deficiencies, including an ongoing Capacity, Management, Operation and Maintenance program.
Southwest Region Planning Commission, Keene: Receiving $911,393 under NBRC’s Timber for Transit program to catalog and assess bridge infrastructure in Cheshire County, develop plans and materials for bridge improvements, and produce standard plans for timber bridges that can be used throughout the NBRC region.