On June 15th, Community Action Partnership of Strafford County (CAPSC) hosted a walkthrough of the Gafney Mansion for the City of Rochester elected officials and staff to review the upcoming remodel for senior housing.
In May of 2019, the Gafney Home was transferred to CAPSC with the intent to create senior housing. Over the past three years, CAPSC developed a long-term plan that included renovating the existing buildings and adding an elevator to create new affordable senior housing in the former Gafney Home mansion. In 2022, CAPSC was awarded $4.2M of low-income housing tax credits (LIHTC) through the NH Housing Finance Authority (NHHFA) and renovations will begin this fall. The building’s first residents are estimated to move in during the late summer/ early fall of 2022.
“We have been working extremely hard with our partners to align the funding and contractors needed to bring the Gafney Home back online while also maintaining its important history and mission,” said Betsey Andrews Parker, Chief Executive Officer of CAPSC. “We are excited to have this project come to fruition after COVID-19 delays and challenges with supplies.”
“CAPSC’s mission is to serve the residents of Strafford County that are experiencing income instability, including the elderly. Using the property as part of our service delivery program for the Greater Rochester area helps CAPSC to provide fuel assistance, transportation, nutrition programs, and housing services to elderly clients. Creating senior housing is an extension of the mission of CAPSC. Moving forward, plans for this property include additional senior housing, a social service delivery center, and potential future programming based on community needs,” explained Andrews Parker.
The Gafney Mansion was built in 1894. 10 years later, Judge Charles B. Gafney donated the mansion to be used as a home for elderly individuals experiencing unstable incomes, and more recently as an assisted living facility. After 115 years of service, the Gafney Home Board of Directors decided to permanently close its operations as a nonprofit assisted living facility.
In May of 2019, Gafney Home was transferred to CAPSC. To preserve the history of the home, the name “Gafney Home” will remain, and CAPSC will continue to collaborate with historical committees in the City of Rochester.
This project is made possible by the support of the following funders: the City of Rochester, Community Development Finance Authority (CDFA), New Hampshire Housing Finance Authority (NHHFA), Evernorth, Eversource, Kennebunk Savings Bank, and TD Bank. CAPSC has partnered with JSA Design who assisted with the new design of the property, acting construction manager Resilient Building Group, and Rochester Housing Authority.
ABOUT CAPSC: Community Action Partnership of Strafford County (CAPSC)’s mission is to “reduce barriers to help clients improve their economic stability and well-being through education, advocacy, and partnerships.” In accordance with its mission, CAPSC offers over 60 coordinated programs that serve the whole person or family and include nutrition, housing, fuel and electric assistance, rental assistance, weatherization, parent and child education, childcare, and senior transportation, all of which are locally defined, planned, and managed in partnership with community agencies. For more than 55 years, CAPSC has changed countless lives and provided hundreds of millions of dollars in goods and services in Strafford County, thereby reducing the burden on other County and community resources.