The town could soon be getting an influx of nearly 100 apartments and townhouse condos affordable to middle-class workers.

NeighborWorks Greater Manchester, a nonprofit community development corporation, envisions 72 one-, two-, and three-bedroom apartments split between two three-story buildings on 11 acres of land between South River Road and Technology Drive owned by James Dwire.

The plan was aired for the first time in public at a planning board meeting on Monday, June 16. The board was also scheduled to hear a plan for a 2,400-square foot bank at Nashua Road and Route 101, but that was postponed.

The housing development, which would be coordinated by TFMoran, an engineering firm with an office in Bedford, would also have 26 townhouse condos and 26,000 square feet of retail stores. The townhouses would be either two or three-bedroom units.

The 72 apartments would be affordable for an average working middle-class family of four with a household income of $45,000, according to NeighborWorks.

That income is a little more than half the median income in the area, which is about $76,000. The townhouses would be marketed to families whose income ranges from $68,000 to $89,000.

In a presentation to the board, Robert Tourigny, executive director of NeighborWorks, pointed out that only 7 percent of the 183 single-family homes for sale in Bedford are affordable for families who earn less than the median income in the area.

The average price of a singlefamily home for sale in Bedford is $533,430. To afford a home like that, a household must make $157,354, which is slightly more than double the area’s median income.

By comparison, firefighters, on average, earn $40,613, police officers pull in $49,716, and elementary school teachers have an income of $50,724, according to NeighborWorks.

Tourigny said his organization would finance the development through federal tax credits, which are allocated through the New Hampshire Housing Finance Authority. The credits would offset some of the cost of the development, allowing NeighborWorks to rent the apartments at lower rates.

The development would be in the performance zone, where the housing is not permitted. Rick Sawyer, the town planner, said the developer would need a use waiver from the Planning Board. A use waiver is similar to a variance.

Robert Cruess of TFMoran, said he will return to the board in late October or November to ask for the waiver. In the meantime, Sawyer said the board will wait and see if the town wants to change the rules for the performance zone, allowing the housing.

“We have to think about what’s the right thing to do as a community,” Sawyer said.

If the board grants the waiver, Tourigny said his organization will then apply for the tax credits. That process, he said, would last for most of 2009, pushing a groundbreaking off to the following year.

The board also indicated that it was keeping its eye on some legislation which has passed the state Senate and House, but has yet to be signed into law by the governor. The new law would reinforce a court case, barring towns from prohibiting or unreasonably discouraging housing developments which are affordable for low- to moderate- income families.

But Sawyer said the law applies to residential zones. This development would be in a commercial area.

“The snapshot in my mind of what this says is that you need to allow multi-family housing in the majority of your residential zones,” Sawyer said.

Tourigny said the 98 homes and apartments would be built in phases. NeighborWorks would co-own the apartments with the financial entity that buys the tax credits. There would be separate owners for the condominium and the commercial area, according to Tourigny.

Even though NeighborWorks is itself a nonprofit corporation, Tourigny, when questioned by Town Manager Russ Marcoux, said the partnership that owns the apartments would pay property taxes on them.