Barrow Street housing lottery has no city-employee applicants; project may stall without five $10,000 deposits

David, the staff lead, told the commission there are currently no formal applications from city employees, school district staff or the housing authority for the Barrow Street housing lottery and that the public application period runs through Oct. 5. "We did not end up getting any applications for participation in the lottery from employees of the city, the school district, or the housing authority," he said.

David said staff broadened outreach through the Upper Valley Business Alliance and the city website but has only a few informal names and no completed entries. He reminded commissioners of the council’s condition that five applicants be prepared to put down a $10,000 pre-deposit: "As approved by the council, if we don't have 5 applicants prepared to put down the pre-deposit, then I don't think the project goes forward because that was basically one of the conditions," David said. The commission discussed whether the city could later market the property to private developers if the threshold is unmet.

Commissioners noted possible reasons for initial interest not turning into applications, including changing personal circumstances and the required deposit. One member observed media coverage and outreach to employees had not translated into formal submissions. The commission agreed to continue outreach for the remaining application window and to report back on uptake at the next meeting.