Dover apartment development is being shaped by three forces at once: the city-backed Cochecho Waterfront project, planned for 418 homes, which delivered its first 220-unit apartment phase; a downtown that has used tax increment financing and New Hampshire’s RSA 79-E tax relief to bring older buildings back into use; and a series of state laws passed in 2025 and 2026 that cap parking requirements and open commercial land to multifamily housing. For owners of existing buildings, the question is how much new supply a market with a 2.3% rental vacancy rate can absorb, and which of the new rules also benefit older properties.
This guide covers the projects, the local and state rule changes, and what they mean for apartment owners in the Strafford County seat.
Dover’s growth and the housing it needs
Dover has grown steadily. The Strafford Regional Planning Commission’s 2026 community profile for Dover, drawing on Census data, shows the population rising from 29,987 in 2010 to 32,741 in 2020, an increase of about 9%, with an estimated 33,234 residents in 2022.
The commission’s housing profile, based on 2024 American Community Survey figures, counts 15,433 housing units in the city:
- Renter-occupied: 7,121 units.
- Owner-occupied: 7,921 units.
- Vacant: 391 units, or about 2.5% of the stock.
- Building permits: 387 in total in 2025.
That renter share, close to half of occupied homes, explains why apartment construction matters so much here.
A tight regional rental market
New Hampshire Housing’s statewide rental surveys show how little slack the region has. Its 2024 vacancy table put Strafford County’s rental vacancy rate at 2.30%, against 4.4% statewide. The agency’s 2024 Residential Rental Cost Survey reported a median gross rent of $1,785 for a two-bedroom unit in Strafford County, compared with $1,833 statewide, and $1,721 across all unit sizes in the county.
A vacancy rate well below 5% generally means landlords fill units quickly and have room to raise rents. It also means new construction has a pool of waiting renters, which is why developers have been willing to take on large projects in Dover.
The Cochecho Waterfront: the largest project in the pipeline
The single biggest addition to Dover’s apartment supply is the redevelopment of city-owned land along the Cochecho River. According to the city’s Cochecho Waterfront development history, the master developer, Cathartes, plans 418 residential units and approximately 26,000 square feet of commercial space.
The project followed a long public sequence:
- June 14, 2022: the Planning Board approved the site plan.
- June 2023: the city began public infrastructure work on the site.
- May 31, 2024: the city sold three waterfront parcels to Cathartes for $1,316,751.58.
- June 2024: Cathartes began private construction.
The Truette and what comes next
The first phase, The Truette, was described by the city in March 2025 as 220 units, 197 apartments plus 23 townhouses, on the 29-acre waterfront site. The building has since been completed and is leasing, and the city and developer have marked the completion of both the Truette and the adjoining Nebi Park. The remaining homes in the plan, including for-sale condominiums, follow in later phases.
For existing owners, the Truette’s significance lies in its scale. Two hundred and twenty new units in a city with roughly 7,100 renter households is equivalent to about 3% of the city’s renter-occupied homes arriving in one place, and the full 418-home waterfront plan, including its for-sale homes, equals nearly 6% of that count. In a market at 2.3% vacancy, that supply can be absorbed, but it will compete directly with the city’s other newer buildings for renters who can afford new-construction rents.
Downtown: incentives for reuse and infill
Dover’s downtown has added apartments through a mix of new buildings and conversions, supported by city financing tools.
Tax increment financing
The city’s Downtown TIF district plan states that the district was established to help offset the cost of needed parking infrastructure improvements, and it also supports utilities, streetscapes and open space. In a TIF district, the added property taxes from new development help pay for public improvements in the same area. For apartment developers, public parking reduces the need to build expensive structured parking on small downtown lots.
RSA 79-E community revitalization relief
New Hampshire’s RSA 79-E lets a city temporarily hold a property’s taxable value at its pre-rehabilitation level in exchange for a substantial rehabilitation that provides a public benefit. Dover used it for the former Strafford County Courthouse. Under the proposal the City Council considered in February 2021, the city would approximately maintain the courthouse property’s prior tax valuation, which had been $789,100, for seven years after occupancy, and beginning in tax year 2030 the property would carry a guaranteed assessed value of $7 million.
The length of that relief follows the statute. Under RSA 79-E:5, a governing body may grant relief for up to five years beginning when the substantial rehabilitation is complete, and may add:
- Up to 2 more years for a project that results in new residential units.
- Up to 4 more years for a project that includes affordable housing.
- Up to 4 more years for a qualifying structure on, or eligible for, the National Register or state register of historic places, or important to a locally designated historic district, when the work meets the federal rehabilitation standards.
The courthouse’s seven-year term matches the five-year base plus the two-year extension for new residential units. The courthouse deal shows how the tool works for a residential conversion: the owner gets several years of predictable taxes while the building leases up, and the city locks in a much larger tax base afterward.
Recent downtown supply
Downtown’s newer apartment buildings include the 130-unit Orpheum Apartments at 104 Washington Street, completed in 2020. Buildings like this compete for the same downtown renters as converted mill and commercial space, and together they set the benchmark rents that older walk-ups in and around downtown are measured against.
Dover’s own zoning changes
Dover has been adjusting its zoning ordinance alongside the state’s changes.
Master plan and land use
The Planning Board adopted a new Land Use Analysis chapter of the master plan on February 10, 2026, replacing the 2015 chapter. The Land Use Analysis chapter is the policy foundation for future zoning amendments, so it is worth reading for any owner considering an addition or redevelopment.
Amendments proposed in 2025 and 2026
The city’s zoning amendment packages show the direction of change, though owners should confirm what was adopted before relying on any single item:
- 2025 package: 44 proposed amendments, including a larger maximum size for accessory dwelling units, from 800 to 950 square feet in the redlined draft, and a cut in required parking for three- and four-family dwellings in the HR and RM-U districts from two spaces per unit to one, which the draft described as anticipating state law. Municipal parking would also be allowed to substitute for required parking in the CBD and CWD districts.
- 2026 package: posted in late July 2026 with Planning Board hearings on September 8 and September 22, 2026, including parking of one space per unit in the RCM overlay, a new definition for converting an existing dwelling into up to two units, and changes to accessory dwelling unit area rules and transfer of development rights.
Separately, the city requires owners of accessory dwelling units to renew their certificate of use annually by January 1, at no cost.
New state laws that reach every Dover property
New Hampshire’s Legislature has passed several housing laws that override local zoning in specific ways. They apply to Dover and every other municipality.
Parking caps
Under RSA 674:16, VII, added by SB 284 in 2025, municipalities shall not require more than one residential parking space per unit, and from September 13, 2026 they cannot require that the space be in a garage. Paragraph VIII of the same section, from HB 457, bars local rules that limit occupancy to fewer than two people per bedroom.
Multifamily on commercial land
HB 631, codified at RSA 674:79 and 674:80 and effective July 1, 2026, requires municipalities to allow multifamily residential development on commercially zoned land. HB 1588, signed in July 2026, made that housing allowed by right, limited local regulation to frontage, setbacks and height no stricter than for commercial buildings in the same zone, capped parking at one space per unit, and let builders who are wrongly blocked recover attorney’s fees. A companion law, HB 1010, lets municipalities review whether water, sewer and traffic capacity can support a project.
Accessory dwelling units
HB 577, signed in July 2025, requires municipalities to allow at least one detached accessory dwelling unit per lot.
The older workforce housing requirement
The recent laws build on an older obligation. Since 2010, RSA 674:59 has required every municipality with land use ordinances to provide reasonable and realistic opportunities for the development of workforce housing, including rental multifamily housing, and to allow workforce housing in a majority, though not necessarily all, of the land zoned for residential use. A municipality whose existing housing stock already meets its fair share of regional need is deemed to comply. The newer laws go further by setting specific limits, such as the one-space parking cap, that apply in every municipality regardless of its existing housing stock.
How new rules affect existing apartment buildings
These changes are usually discussed in terms of new construction, but several directly affect owners of buildings already standing:
- More competition over time. By-right multifamily on commercial land opens sites along Dover’s commercial corridors that previously needed a variance or rezoning. Owners should expect more mid-size projects, not only large waterfront phases.
- Lower parking burdens on expansions. The one-space cap can make it feasible to add units to an existing property, finish an attic or basement unit, or convert space that previously failed parking minimums.
- Higher land values for some sites. An older apartment building on commercially zoned land, especially one with surplus land or a large parking lot, may be worth more to a developer than its rent roll alone suggests.
- Occupancy flexibility. The two-per-bedroom floor limits local occupancy restrictions, which can matter for owners of larger units marketed to roommates.
What Dover apartment development means for owners
Pulling the threads together, owners of existing Dover apartment buildings can take several practical steps:
- Benchmark against the right supply. Compare rents and amenities with the Truette, the Orpheum and other recent buildings to see where an older property competes and where it does not.
- Track the waterfront’s later phases. Each additional phase adds supply; watch the city’s project page for timing.
- Re-read your zoning. Confirm which local amendments were adopted, then check whether the state’s parking cap or commercial-land rules open an expansion or conversion option on your parcel.
- Value the land, not just the building. If your property sits on commercially zoned land or has excess land, consider how much a developer might pay under the new by-right rules. Our apartment building value calculator gives a starting point for the income value to compare against.
- Ask about RSA 79-E before a major rehab. Downtown owners planning a substantial renovation should ask the city about tax relief before work begins.
For a closer look at the local market, visit our Dover market page, and for other cities in the state, see our New Hampshire market overview.
The outlook for Dover’s housing pipeline
Dover combines steady population growth, a renter share near half of all households and a regional vacancy rate around 2%. That combination has drawn a large waterfront project, supported downtown conversions and now meets a state framework designed to make the next round of multifamily projects easier to approve. For owners of existing buildings, the near-term picture is one of strong demand meeting meaningful new supply. The owners best placed are those who know exactly how their buildings compare with the new product and who look at whether the state’s new rules add value to their own parcels.
