After years of fights over housing in Warner's commercial district, a 34-unit workforce apartment project finally has its local approval. The Warner Planning Board voted 4-3 on Oct. 19 to approve the project from CATCH Neighborhood Housing, the Concord-based nonprofit, in the town's commercially zoned Intervale District, with a list of conditions attached (via NHPR, republished from the Concord Monitor).
The conditions include a required share of ground-floor retail space, under a state law that allows multifamily housing on commercially zoned land; annual income recertification for tenants; documented salt and de-icing management; and sign-off from the fire chief and fire marshal. The units are aimed at households earning 50% or 60% of area median income. In Merrimack County, median income is $90,100 for one person and $102,900 for a two-person household, the Monitor reported.
The income rule drew the most pushback from the developer. Tom Furtado, CATCH's president and CEO, said the recertification condition could interfere with how the group gets its funding, and that "until we get the final decision, it's hard to say exactly what those conditions will be." Board chair Karen Coyne said the project "should remain workforce housing for the tenants," while CATCH chief operating officer Alex Panagiotakos argued people shouldn't be discouraged from moving up in their careers.
The vote was close for a reason. Board member Pier D'Aprile pointed to unresolved fire safety and traffic questions and said, "I think we've been too lenient with this app." Member John Leavitt pushed back: "It seems like, to me, that people are looking for a reason to deny this application." A proposed moratorium on development in the Intervale District, which would have paused projects while the town updated its zoning and master plan, failed.
This site has a long paper trail. In 2022, a 24-unit apartment proposal from Comet LLC, designed with Ranger Engineering, ran into neighbor opposition and tight state funding deadlines, the New Hampshire Bulletin reported, and the Monitor said it was withdrawn that December. Comet is also the property owner on the current project. In June 2025, the town's Zoning Board of Adjustment voted 3-2 to deny CATCH a special exception for a 34-unit workforce housing building on Route 103, citing the commercial zoning, rural character and runoff risk to the Warner River, according to the board's written decision. CATCH challenged an earlier rejection in court and won, the Monitor reported, and the project at one point was pitched at 48 units.
It's still not a done deal. The project needs state permits for road access and alteration of terrain, and Furtado said it won't move forward until those come through.
Why it matters for Contractors
For contractors, the takeaway isn't the 34 units. It's how long this took. Workforce housing in a small New Hampshire town ran through a withdrawn proposal, a zoning denial, a court fight, a failed moratorium and a split planning vote, and it still needs state permits. That's the timeline small builders should expect for multifamily in towns that are wary of growth.
If you're a Merrimack County sub, CATCH is a repeat developer worth knowing, and this job will eventually need site, wetland-sensitive stormwater and building trades. But don't plan around a start date until the state road access and alteration of terrain permits are issued.