A new project in Portsmouth is bringing together affordable housing, a faith community and two area nonprofits, while preserving some lesser known local history.
Bishop Rob Hirschfeld of the Episcopal Diocese of New Hampshire is retiring in less than a year. But by all accounts, he’s going out with a bang. He’s behind a massive redevelopment project on a Portsmouth property owned by the church that just broke ground last month.
“From my perspective, there's been a kind of holy delight in this work that, oh my gosh, can this really happen?” Hirschfeld said.
Turns out, it can. Bishop Hirschfeld is referring to the redevelopment of Langdon Farm, on which sits Christ Church. Aside from the church, much of the acreage has sat unused for decades. Now, the church is building a new worship space and leasing some of the land to the Portsmouth Housing Authority to build new affordable housing. They'll also rent to Haven, a nonprofit that supports survivors of domestic and sexual abuse.
While the Diocese is technically leasing the land to PHA and Haven, they’re doing so at no cost, for 98 years. That will make a big difference for Haven’s executive director, Kathy Beebe.
“For us, the long term sustainability piece is huge because right now that's about $250,000 a year in lease costs that will go right back into our people and programs and services,” Beebe said.
Haven intends to build their headquarters and housing for their clients so they can access shelter and services all at the same place. It’ll cut out the hassle of additional transportation and provide more long-term accommodations for those they serve. Beebe said building up Haven’s presence on the property is also an opportunity to raise awareness.
“What's even more exciting for us, or for me, is the fact that this opportunity is taking domestic and sexual violence kind of out of the shadows and putting it front and center so that anybody knows that Haven is there and is accessible."Kathy Beebe
Haven’s neighbors will be tenants of the 44 new affordable units from the Portsmouth Housing Authority.
Executive Director Craig Welch said renters make up half of Portsmouth's population, and 15% of them spend more than half of their incomes just on rent.
“That's just debilitating for people,” Welch said. “It's life-changing for some people when they can have some economic freedom and be able to take risks.”
That could mean taking a leap of faith on a new job, or buying a vehicle to help with transportation needs. Welch said the goal of the project is to further expand access to housing for members of the Portsmouth community who are particularly in need, like childcare providers, who support the broader economy.
“We haven't kept up in creating and maintaining the housing infrastructure that houses the people who make this economy grow,” Welch said. “And we're seeing the downsides of that.”
There's one more element to this big redevelopment project. Nestled among Haven’s headquarters and the housing units will be a place for reflection and preservation, overseen by the Black Heritage Trail of New Hampshire.
The former owners of the farm property buried enslaved people on their land. It’s known as the African Burying Ground. Part of the agreement with the Episcopal Church is that the area will be cared for and preserved.
“This was one project that I saw where the use of land, modern use of land preservation and history really combined together,” Black Heritage Trail Executive Director JerriAnne Boggis said. “It shows us what can happen if we're thoughtful enough that progress doesn't mean an end to preservation, but it can be a part of that progress.”
Boggis said they plan to create new signage with a digital or AI element to relay the history of the Burying Ground to visitors.
The project ran into some unexpected hurdles along the way. The man who had entrusted the land to the Episcopal Church years ago had done so under the premise that it would be used for "ecclesiastical," or church, purposes. The bank overseeing the trust felt that this project wasn’t technically “ecclesiastical.” Bishop Hirschfeld disagreed.
“Our perspective was that there is a time-honored tradition throughout the church that churches offer their resources for the care of the poor, for shelter, for feeding,” Hirschfeld said. “Churches have begun schools, hospitals, all sorts of agencies, and this was very much consistent with that millennia, double-millennia tradition.”
It took several months, a court case, and money, but the church prevailed and a place of worship for Christ Church will remain on the property.
Hirschfeld said he hopes to see the redevelopment blossom into a robust community over the course of the near-100-year lease.
“My hope is that what we're doing here is creating a neighborhood and creating community where people are rubbing shoulders with one another, where people are coming to see their common needs and are finding mutual support and that it moves in perpetuity,” Hirschfeld said.
Rental units and Haven’s operations will likely open late next year.
