Northern Stage Breaks Ground on 18-Unit Housing Development in Downtown WRJ
Whether or not you build it, they will come—the actors, artists, staff and tech folks who put on a season of shows every year at Northern Stage. The question has been where to house them. The answer has been in part to rent existing apartments in the Upper Valley for short-term stays, which means those units may be off the market for needed permanent housing. And it’s a solution that comes with significant financial cost for Northern Stage.
On Thursday, July 25, Northern Stage finally broke ground for a new 18-unit, 3 building housing development, a short stroll from the theater on Gates Street, to house its visiting artists and staff. Construction is expected to be completed in less than a year. Here is Northern Stage explaining the math:
Like so many other places, the Upper Valley is experiencing a severe housing shortage. Because Northern Stage is contractually obligated to provide housing to actors and visiting artists at no cost, the company must maintain a real estate portfolio. Currently, Northern Stage owns and maintains three apartment buildings and leases an additional 15 units from landlords in White River Junction. At the core of the Act II Campaign is an 18-unit, 24-bed apartment complex at the end of Gates Street, just a block from the theater. When completed, Northern Stage will be able to release its current units back into the market, effectively increasing the housing stock in White River Junction by 15 units. The “campus” will include a new parking lot with EV charging capabilities and a pocket park . . .”
And a peek at what the finished project will look like:
(Photo, top, Robin Caissie, Carol Dunne, Jim Lynch, Stuart Johnson, Nancy Murray, Jenn Argenti, Jason Smoller. Photo credit: Mark Washburn)
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And in case you are wondering . . . Susan B. Apel shuttered a lifelong career as a law professor to continue an interest (since kindergarten) in writing. Her freelance business, The Next Word, includes literary and feature writing; her work has appeared in a variety of lit mags and other publications including Art New England, The Woven Tale Press, The Arts Fuse, and Persimmon Tree. She connects with her neighbors through Artful, her blog about arts and culture in the Upper Valley. She’s in love with the written word.