Council to vote on OK'ing N. Ridge project, $400G for Catholic Charities complex

A rendering of the design concept for The Residences at Riverside Park located on Old Dover Road (Courtesy Catholic Charities of NH)

ROCHESTER - The City Council is expected to vote tonight on whether to approve the North Ridge project in Rochester, which comprises more than 160 acres of what is described by the Waterstone Properties Group as a "live, work, play" development.
The plan calls for a large entertainment venue, a health and wellness club, restaurants, a conference center and an extensive network of trails.
The area is located just north of the Rochester Walmart.
The complex will include 222 multi-family housing units, with 74 units in each of three buildings.
It will also include a clubhouse and pool.
In new business they will be considering approving $400,000 from the city's Economic Development Reserve Fund to aid the Catholic Charities affordable housing development at 45 Old Dover Road.
The affordable housing complex got the council's go-ahead in March of 2025.
The property is the former site of the public works department.
The complex, itself, will comprise 80 apartments, plus community and exercise rooms.
Jeff Lefkovich, executive director of Real Estate and Development for Catholic Charities of New Hampshire, told the City Council and residents in attendance at the March 2025 meeting that there would be no illegal aliens housed at the complex, but during a subsequent interview with The Rochester Voice, he refused to make that same promise.