Manchester Infill & Small Developments

Huge development proposed for Milford
By Daymond Steer
Cabinet staff

MILFORD ? A North Carolina company pitched a 500-home development to the planning board last week that would require Milford to relax its growth management ordinance and give exceptions to zoning regulations to allow nearly 10 times the density that?s currently allowed.
Landquest calls the 500 home subdivision ?workforce housing.?
Ordinarily, such a plan would get laughed out of town hall, but the developers have a special carrot: They would improve or possibly buy the town?s Brox property. The plan also would help address the growing affordable housing shortage in Milford. Propoerty values have risen dramatically in the area over the last few years, and there are very few homes currently on the market that cost less than $250,000.
The developers from Landquest say they are interested in putting 500 homes on two parcels totaling 127 acres just south of the Route 101 bypass, near the Brox property.
In exchange, they would provide water, sewer and road access to the 125-acre Brox industrial lands and onto the parcels where the homes would be located.
The informal proposal was made during a planning board work session on Nov. 16. The planning board asked Landquest to come back with an economic analysis that would show why the plan is worth pursuing.
See the Nov. 30 Cabinet for more.
 
Developer goes 'green' at former Jac Pac site
By RILEY YATES
Union Leader Staff
Friday, Jan. 19, 2007


MANCHESTER ? The city's Jac Pac site could be the home of a high-end development spanning 300,000 to 400,000 square feet and including professional offices, retail and housing.

Local developer Dick Anagnost yesterday submitted a proposal for the 17-acre site off Queen City Avenue that calls for as much as 100,000 square feet of offices, 32 to 50 apartments and between 7,000 and 20,000 square feet of retail space.

"This truly ties southern Manchester into the downtown," Anagnost said.

The proposal was filed on the last day of a more than two-month search for developers for the city-owned land, which was purchased in 2005 from Tyson Foods and has been off the tax base since.

The only bid submitted, it will be reviewed by a seven-member committee, with a recommendation slated to be made to aldermen on March 20.

"On first blush I'm very impressed by what I saw," said Glen Ohlund, the city's development coordinator. "We're still going to need to do due diligence on it."

Anagnost proposes razing the former meat packing plant and constructing as many as six environmentally friendly "green" buildings over a five-year period.

The first phase of work would span two years and involve the offices, which have already secured prospective tenants, he said.

Professional services such as medical and legal offices will be served in the multistory building, which would have parking underneath.

The project would stimulate jobs by drawing companies to Manchester and allowing local business to expand, Anagnost said.

The offices would be centrally located on the property, the retail would front Queen City Avenue, and the housing would protect residential neighbors along the edges.

Between two and four acres of land by the Merrimack River would be donated to the city for green space by Manchester's Riverwalk.

The city's request for bids was made in November. It asked for mixed-use development, the recouping of the city's investment, and the maintenance of open land by the river.

Anagnost has offered $3.6 million for the parcel, which would cover the city's nearly $3.5 purchase price and upkeep costs at property, Ohlund said.

Ohlund said it is not surprising only one developer submitted proposals, given the current high cost of construction and technical issues on the site, which contains easements for electricity and a Pan Am Railways track.

City officials may be interested in seeing Anagnost expand the office proposal beyond the 80,000 to 100,000 square feet he proposed, Ohlund said.

Also, the city would prefer Anagnost to maintain the open space by the river, instead of forcing the parks department to, he said.

Mayor Frank Guinta said he needed to review details of what Anagnost is looking at.

"We appreciate the response that we received from Anagnost Companies and look forward to sitting down with his team and seeing if it's the best fit," Guinta said.

Anagnost, who has a team that includes Cube 3 Studio Architects and CLD Consulting Engineers, already owns two properties near the site: a former mill at 33 South Commercial St. and the Rockwell Automation building at 460 Elm St.

He said he has been long struck by the Jac Pac property's potential, which city officials hope will serve as an anchor to attract investment south from the downtown.

"I've been working on this for two years," Anagnost said. "I was originally working with Tyson before the city started negotiating with them."
 
I was watching this show the other morning on NHPTV about manchester and its mills. There was a tour of the city with mayor guinta and apparently (according to Him) Manchester used to have about 8 million square feet of mill space, and now has about half that since a lot has been torn down. That is a lot of space that could have been used for more offices and living. too bnad. but I bet it was all crappy since otherwise it wouldnt have needed to be knocked over. some of the buildings looked really nice inside, and a few are still awaiting development, with graffitti everywhere. I was unaware that Manchester has over a mile of mills, and used to have much more. thats a lot.

I was also unaware that Manchester was a planned mill-city, not an original settlement. In the show it described how the same company who founded Lowell Massachusetts bought up all of the farm land around Manchester and built all of the mills for their production, and this led to the city of Manchester we now know today. The company even built most of Manchester's original houses for workforce living quarters, and that must account for why a lot of its units are so dense and why a lot of manchester has a working class vibe to it (not all, these days, obviously, but a lot of it does). It even told of how manchester used to be a walled city, with a gate around the mills so only workers could get in and out. At this time, half of the city was employed at the mills, and that totalled about 17,000 people, so we are talking about when the city was about 34,000 people in terms of population. long time ago. Now I can see how it is emerging as somewhat more than a mill city as all of those massachusetts people move north. interesting history, it kinda makes me feel like comparing manchester and portland is like comparing apples and oranges now.

P.S. the video is linked online on NHPTV.org or something like that.
 
^That is true. You know Canal St. in Manchester? That was actually a canal up until the 60's when it was filled in and paved over. Most of the mills running along the canal were torn down too.

There's some interesting pics here



Amoskeag-0005.jpg
 
If Derry was a city it would be the fourth largest in NH. And Pinkerton Academy is the 2nd largest private high school in the country. We do have the Mini-Big Dig going on downtown. It be nice to see what it looks like when its done. I drive through downtown almost every day.
 
MBrown --

I am confused, why did you bring up Derry? Am I Missing something?

Also, is Pinkerton religious oriented, or is it just straight up secular-private?

And how close to Manchester is Derry?

And what do you mean you have a mini big dig ( a mini dig :) ) going on downtown? the widening of granite street?
 
Patrick said:
MBrown --

I am confused, why did you bring up Derry? Am I Missing something?

Also, is Pinkerton religious oriented, or is it just straight up secular-private?

And how close to Manchester is Derry?

And what do you mean you have a mini big dig ( a mini dig :) ) going on downtown? the widening of granite street?
Click to expand...

I must have confused an earlier post you made with one the the latest ones. My bad. I prolly thought one of the earlier pages in this thread was the last one. But anyway I think it used to be religious. I don't remember. Derry is about 10miles out or something like that.
 
Jeez could we lay off the senior housing, we're going to become old person land...

High end retail, senior housing eyed for prime Bedford land

By STEPHEN BEALE
Union Leader Correspondent
9 hours, 10 minutes ago

BEDFORD ? Thirty-eight acres of prime commercial real estate near the corner of routes 101 and 114 are being sold by Saint Anslem College to Hawthorne Partners, LLC, which hopes to build high-end retail stores and senior housing on the site, representatives of the company said yesterday.

The land was owned by the Flatley Company and donated to St. Anselm in 2002 when a proposal to construct a Target, Stop & Shop and restaurant there stirred controversy among residents who wanted to limit development in the area. The company also tried to sell the property to the school district, but voters rejected the proposal in 2002.

The college reached a purchase-and-sales agreement with Hawthorne several months ago, according to Thomas Farrelly, an executive director at Cushman & Wakefield, a global real estate company representing St. Anselm.

Farrelly said 30 developers across the nation had initially expressed interest in the property and a dozen of them had made offers.

"There was a tremendous amount of interest in the site," he said. "The competition was very aggressive."

Hawthorne is based in Woburn, Mass. and is involved in six other residential projects in that state and in Connecticut, according to the company Web site. The Bedford project is the only one it is pursuing in New Hampshire.

Completion of the sale is contingent upon the approval of all necessary permits for the project, according to Scott Tranchemontagne, a spokesman for Hawthorne. Tranchemontagne said the company intended to submit a preliminary conceptual site plan to the town planning board in about a month.

Neither Hawthorne nor St. Anselm is disclosing the purchase price. The land is assessed at $5,028,600, according to tax information Cushman & Wakefield obtained from the town in 2005. Farrelly said St. Anselm was asking for $7 million.

"We believe the proposal is a win-win opportunity for Bedford and Saint Anselm College," said the Rev. Jonathan DeFelice, O.S.B., president of the college. "Responsible development of this land will contribute to a healthy tax base to benefit all Bedford residents. At the same time, proceeds from the sale will support scholarship aid for students, including hundreds from New Hampshire, greatly improving access to one of the finest Catholic liberal arts educations," DeFelice said.

Hawthorne representatives say the company wants to turn most of the area into a village of high-end senior housing condominiums that would be restricted to residents aged 55 and older.

A portion of the property would also be transformed into high-end retail space. "It is very important to note there will not be any kind of what they call big-box retail," Tranchemontagne said.

Officials are declining to discuss potential retail tenants, but when asked if Williams-Sonoma, a company which sells kitchen and other household goods, was an example of the kind of store Hawthorne would like to see move into the retail area, Farrelly said it was.

Karen White, the director of planning in Bedford, said she had had "extremely generalized" conversations with Hawthorne representatives about its proposal. She said it was too early to comment on potential issues that might be raised by the planning board.

White did say that Hawthorne would not be able to build a driveway out to either Route 101 or 114 because the state had purchased the limited access rights to both highways. Corporate Drive now connects the property with Olde Bedford Way, which feeds into Route 101.
 
Here's the Web site for The Neighborhoods at Woodland Park in Manchester. "An upscale, 112-acre master-planned community comprised of five neighborhoods featuring homes in a broad variety of residence styles." Looks extremely suburban to me.

http://www.theneighborhoodsnh.com/home.html
 
most large urban areas have very suburban areas just outside of them--where all of the industry and business leaders choose to live in order to escape the inner urban core.....like newton for boston, cape elizabeth for portland, and places like this for manchester. i think it is a good sign. more rish people means more business.
 
Diamond View needs zoning variance for ballpark project to move ahead
By MARK HAYWARD AND SCOTT BROOKS
New Hampshire Union Leader
6 hours, 9 minutes ago


MANCHESTER ? In a move that may invigorate the sluggish pace of condo development around the MerchantsAuto.com Stadium, a Salem-area developer is planning to build a six-story condo tower at the edge of the ballpark, according to city officials and an engineer familiar with the project.

Representatives from Diamond View LLC are expected to meet with aldermen at City Hall this week to discuss company plans.

The tower would include 36 one- and two-bedroom condos and would be built on land that had been reserved for retail space or a restaurant, said Bob Duval, an engineer with T.F. Moran who has worked on the stadium and surrounding development.

Duval said Diamond View plans to invest $10 million in the tower. With a brick and glass facade, the tower would feature luxury loft-style apartments, he said.

"It has that urban, renovated-warehouse look you might find in New York City or Boston that is appealing to young professionals," Duval said.

Alderman At-large Mike Lopez, who chairs the committee overseeing riverfront projects, said he is open to Diamond View's proposal.

"I can visualize this as being an improvement over the original plan," he said.

This will be the third year that the New Hampshire Fisher Cats play at the city-owned baseball stadium. Last spring, a 125-room Hilton Garden hotel opened beyond the left-field wall.

Otherwise, the stadium area has not lived up to expectations that private development would generate enough tax revenues to help defray stadium construction costs.

"The most important thing I'm interested in is getting something in the ground so we can get our taxes," Lopez said.

Diamond View's project could compete with other condos under construction south of the ballpark. Durham developer Eric Chinburg has promised to erect 45 townhouse condominiums, of which 24 are now standing.

Chinburg is revising blueprints on his standout project, what was to be a pair of six-story riverfront towers. His new plan, which could go before the Planning Board in May, is to build three towers, each rising just four stories high. The idea is to save money by building the frames with wood instead of steel and concrete, he said.

Diamond View's condos would be different than his own, Chinburg noted. Together, he said, they would help fulfill the city's vision for a developed riverfront.

"I think it's going to be a great part of the city," he said, "and it's happening now."

Efforts were made to build a restaurant on the lot Diamond View is now eyeing, but those plans faltered in 2005 when city officials could not devise an acceptable parking plan.

Duval said the lot is small for a condo development, and Diamond View will need a zoning variance for the project to move forward. A request for a variance is expected to go before the Manchester Zoning Board of Adjustment in early April, he said.

Mayor Frank Guinta is reserving judgment, saying the aldermen will have to give the proposal a close look.

"This is a bit more complex than just a straightforward development project," Guinta said.

The lot is located between the stadium and the parking lot to the north. Part of it fronts Line Drive, the public street that ends with a cul de sac at the stadium entrance. A driveway to the condo tower would connect to Line Drive, Duval said.

A subsurface and ground level of the tower would be used for parking. The condos would be in the next five stories.

The lot is the last piece of the baseball-area land owned by Manchester Downtown Visions, Duval said. Other lots have been sold to Chinburg and the hotel developer.

Diamond View LLC includes several investors, Duval said. Its managing partner is John Cook, a high-technology businessman who sold his company and is now looking to invest in real estate, Duval said.

He wants to begin construction this season and have the condos ready for sale in a year, Duval said.

Late last year, aldermen complained development around the stadium was at a standstill.

City officials said they collected money from Chinburg to cover property taxes from developments that have yet to materialize.
 
UNH Manchester Plans Upward Expansion

UNH-Manchester has some growing plans
By MARK HAYWARD
New Hampshire Union Leader

http://www.theunionleader.com/artic...rticleId=07f7f23f-7616-4d1f-8408-8fe6fe56570c

Manchester ? Expanded curriculum and a larger building at the University of New Hampshire-Manchester will be mapped out in the coming months, the university branch announced yesterday.

A 13-person planning team has been named, officials said in a release issued yesterday.

It will take about seven months to survey area business and community leaders, examine demographic trends and then consider additions to curriculum and the university space.

Kristin Woolever, dean of UNH-Manchester, stressed that UNH is committed to the Millyard. It's likely an expansion would be "upward" on the current building at 400 Commercial St.

"We want to be right downtown in Manchester. That is a major strength," Woolever said. "We are UNH's urban campus. To maintain that legitimacy, we need to be in the city."

The appointment of the team comes after officials failed to win state funding this year for a 25,000-square-foot science and technology center connected to the university branch.

But U.S. Sen. John Sununu has written a $400,000 appropriation for a UNH Manchester planning grant. That now is part of legislation that awaits President Bush's signature.

Opened in 1985, UNH Manchester is housed in the three-story, 75,000-square-foot mill building at 400 Commercial St. Last year, it leased 11,000 square feet on the top floor of 286 Commercial St.

The university branch has an enrollment of about 1,550 students and offers 11 master's and 18 undergraduate degree programs.

Woolever said she has spoken to business leaders and technology companies in the Greater Manchester and Merrimack Valley areas. They are interested in programs in topics such as business, engineering, medical science and information technology, she said.

The expansion of such programs, however, requires lab space. It would not make sense economically to outfit a lab in leased space, said Ginger Lever, spokesman for UNH Manchester.

The branch university is bordered by mill buildings to its north and south and the Arms Parking lot to its east. Woolever said the university does not want to reduce the number of parking spaces in the millyard. She said the acquisition of neighboring mill buildings is not under consideration at this point.
 
Article from WMUR

$100 Million Project Proposed For Jac Pac Site

MANCHESTER, N.H. -- Elliot Hospital announced a $100 million redevelopment plan Tuesday for the former Jac Pac site in Manchester.

The proposal would be one of the largest commercial developments in state history, officials said.

Elliot Healthcare will build an urgent-care facility on the site, along with retail stores and an apartment building. Company officials said the project will create 250 to 300 jobs.

Environmental work will need to be done to the site, which is contaminated with asbestos and other chemicals.

Company officials said the project should be completed by 2010.


Video
http://www.wmur.com/news/14457419/detail.html
 
This is great for that end of Manchester. As always, my only wish is that they build up! Four stories??? Come on.
 
I ran across this article from the 11/23 Manchester Daily Express. Its talks about proposed zoning changes to encourage small business growth in Manchester. I know next to nothing about zoning. It sounds good on paper, but will this new zoning actually spur small business growth?

zoning.jpg
 
wow. manchester NH, who knew? progressive!
I'm assuming this will be in a bunch of overlay districts ... can you get a map what it looks like?
I think allowing accessory retail/consumer use in a residential building is especially good - and allowing construction for these facilities as of right really backs it up. And no requirement for off street parking ... nice (hopefully they'll alleviate street parking restrictions in these districts/adjacent residential districts to back this up? if they don't it's just a gesture) ...
hm, as for actually promoting small business... yes, i think it will make establishing small very locally-oriented businesses much easier. funny, it's exactly the sort of thing zoning was established to get rid of, almost a century ago in LA now!
expect to see lots of new nail salons within the next decade.
 
Big ideas for development on Elm Street

MANCHESTER ? The old Goulet Supply Building at 379 Elm St. would make way for a new development with office space, retail space and apartments if one city developer's vision comes to pass.

The plans, at this point, are nothing more than architectural drawings. But Ron Dupont, president of Red Oak Property Management Inc., believes the site could well attract a major commercial tenant whose presence would be key to a successful development, along with renters looking for more upscale apartments. The location, and the availability of parking, also make the site attractive, according to Dupont.

"It is Elm Street -- the best main street in New Hampshire. It is the corporate center for a lot of large law firms and banks," said Dupont, as he pointed to a map noting future development planned and expected in the area. "That's the future of Elm Street. It's only going to improve."


A multi-building, mixed use complex would occupy the site of the old Goulet Supply building at 379 Elm St. in this plan by Red Oak Property Management. (LAVALLEE BRENSINGER ARCHITECTS)
It took a bit of work for Dupont to cobble the 1.75 acres of land together. Originally, it had been in two parcels, totaling five tracts of land. But in 2005, city tax records and Hillsborough County Registry of Deeds records show, Dupont's Oak Leaf Homes LLC vehicle purchased the properties, with street addresses from 379 to 409 Elm St. The total sale price for the land was $1.3 million.

Having that much land, however, allows for one thing that is often lacking elsewhere downtown: ample on-site parking, which will come free with the rent.

"My goal is never to get a call about a parking problem at this site," Dupont said.

The idea for the parking is that users would park at different times, thus allowing more people to park in the spaces available. Office workers would largely park during the day, while residents would use it at night. A similar system is in place at his Opera Block building on Hanover Street, and has worked well, Dupont said.

At this point, the site design calls for a three or four-story Class A office building to anchor the site, which would have 15,000 or 20,000 square feet of space, depending on its height. Also envisioned are a two-story retail building with 8,000 total square feet, and in the back, an apartment building around six stories tall. The apartment building has been designed to offer tenants views of the mountains on the West side and of the park-like Valley Cemetery on the East, which should make for excellent fall foliage viewing.

"I have people coming in my office almost every day that would want to rent something like this," Dupont said of the apartments.


A total of 1.75 acres, from 379 to 409 Elm St., are part of Ron Dupont's plan for a new development. (BENJAMIN KEPPLE)
For the project to go forward, Dupont needs to secure a major tenant for the office building. Once that takes place, he can demolish the old Goulet Supply building and start building the new space with that tenant in mind.

"In the end, the way it's going to look will be driven by demand in the marketplace, which we're still trying to measure. The housing's probably the easy part," said Dan Scanlon, of Grubb & Ellis/Coldstream Real Estate Advisors Inc., the property's listing agent. "There's a lot of flexibility here."

"We're going to need a fairly substantial tenant for the office portion to just get approvals and start construction," Scanlon said.

Since the project is still in its conceptual phase, many details have yet to be ironed out -- such as the potential rents for the office space. However, the building will be designed with the idea it will provide high-end, Class A space -- in other words, some of the best space available in the market. Rents will be set accordingly.

"That's going to reflect the quality of the project and the availability of the parking," Scanlon said.
61408ave379elm_240px.jpg

What is there now:
61408avemanch_275px.jpg
 
This really needed an upgrade. It's the gateway exit to the city.
That exit configuration looks pretty similar to what the state did for the Rte 108/Exeter/Stratham exit of Rte 101. That seems to flow pretty nicely.
 
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