Latest news with #CommitteeonLandsandBuildings
Yahoo
19-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Manchester eyes three parcels to sell to generate funds for affordable housing trust
Manchester aldermen are being asked to deem three vacant parcels of land as surplus so they can be sold to generate funds for the city's affordable housing trust. The request mirrors the process undertaken in 2024, when 15 vacant lots were sold by auction generated $1.13 million, 100% of which went to the city's Affordable Housing Trust Fund. One of the parcels is located at Smyth Road, with the other two at Sheffield Road. The Smyth Road parcel is 30,451 square feet, or 0.70 acres, and has been city-owned for 70 years (since 1955). The Sheffield Road parcels are a combined 41 acres. Lot 01 has been owned by the city for 24 years (since 2001) and Lot 02 for 65 years (1960). If deemed surplus and ultimately sold off, 100% of the net proceeds would go into the city's Affordable Housing Trust Fund after satisfying all outstanding balances and transferring 10% of the proceeds into the Tax Deeded Property Reserve Account (the latter process only applies to the sale of the Sheffield Road lot,. since these parcels were tax deeded. The aldermanic Committee on Lands and Buildings will take up the request Tuesday at 6:15 p.m. at City Hall. Manchester Mayor Jay Ruais first mentioned the effort to identify city-owned vacant parcels that could be sold to generate housing funds when he took office in 2024. The lots identified surplus and sold in 2024 were as follows: • Wellington Hill Road, Lot 645-41. • Wellington Hill Road, Lots 645-39 and 645-40. • Erie Street, Lot 455-10, and Boynton Street, Lot 658-32A. • Calef Road and Titus Avenue, Lot 554-17C. • North Bay Street, Lot 770-23. • Boston Street, Lots 283-1, 2, 3, and 8. • Patterson Street, Lot 449-16B. • Bicentennial Drive, 560-95A. • Saint James Avenue, Lot 579-29. • Pinehurst Avenue, Lot 685-14. • Gosselin Road, Lot 750-11. • Huntress Street, Lots 753-9E and 9G. • Hackett Hill Road, 767-4B. • Leo Street, Lot 853-34. • 44 Trolly Court, Lot 897-145. Last year aldermen voted unanimously to use $200,000 from the Affordable Housing Trust Fund to create eight new units of affordable housing for homeless women, a move made possible due to the sale of the vacant city lots. The eight units were made available to homeless women at a rate of $800 a month.
Yahoo
16-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
City to hear plans for 'first-of-its-kind' multi-use development at Hackett Hill site
Manchester aldermen are scheduled Tuesday to review plans from a local developer to transform six lots within the city's Hackett Hill property into what's described as a 'first-of-its-kind' mixed-use development for the Queen City, featuring 230 modern townhomes, 96 multifamily garden units, and 96 mixed-use units. Socha Companies will go before the aldermanic Committee on Lands and Buildings at 6:15 p.m. Tuesday at City Hall. Most, if not all, of the discussion on a request from William Socha from Socha Companies to purchase six lots (Lots 15, 15B, 15C, 15D, 15E, and portion of 15M) totaling 88.3 acres in the Hackett Hill property — also known as Northwest Business Park — may take place in nonpublic session because it involves a real estate action. A copy of Socha's proposal included in the agenda for the meeting shows a vision for the site in line with the city's overall master plan for the area — establishing residential neighborhoods within mixed-use developments that would serve as the 'northern gateway to the future Innovation Village.' 'Their intention would be to establish a strong presence of housing opportunities with the initial development phases, which would help to alleviate the current market demand for housing within the city,' a summary of the proposal says. 'This would be followed by the mixed-use developments which will open up the corridor for future development opportunities on other parcels to the south.' 'This Hackett Hill property has been identified as a significant development opportunity in multiple Manchester strategic plans, as well as deliberated by numerous mayoral administrations over the past four decades,' William Socha writes in a memo to city officials. 'We believe it is time to translate vision into action. Our proposal is rooted in a deep understanding of the city's priorities, economic potential, and community needs. In addition to integrating necessary infrastructure improvements for long-term support of Hackett Hill, our proposed plan will create a unique mixed-use village that concentrates employment uses within neighborhoods that support a variety of home densities and choices. 'Hackett Hill is not just a development — it's a reimagined way of living.' No purchase price is mentioned in the paperwork included with the agenda. The Northwest Business Park is comprised of land that poses significant challenges for development. The area is known for its shallow depth to ledge and very steep grades. The parcels being discussed contain over 18 acres of steep slope (greater than 25%) area and estimated to contain approximately 3 acres of jurisdictional wetlands. Another 5 acres are encumbered by existing powerline easements — meaning approximately 30% of the total land area of the subject parcels are considered non-buildable land according to the city of Manchester Zoning Ordinance. 'Development of the subject parcels will require significant construction effort and cost in terms of blasting ledge and moving earth in order to access the steep areas of the property,' an engineering summary written by Northpoint Engineering says. The first phase of Socha's plan for the site is a 230-unit residential townhouse development to be constructed on Lots 15 & 15D on the west side of the access road. All units will be market-rate rentals with a mixture of two and three bedrooms. Amenities will include a clubhouse and walking paths, including a path along the main access road to connect with future phases of development. The second phase of development will be on Lots 15B and 15C on the east side of the main access road. This development will include an initial mixed-use component on Lot 15C followed by a multi-family development on Lot 15B. The mixed-use development is modeled after an existing development in Dover known as Pointe Place, involving a series of four-story buildings that would include commercial/retail space on the first floor and apartments on the upper three floors. Underground parking would be provided in the basement of the buildings for residents. This area would create 48,000 square feet of commercial space and 96 residential units. Lot 15B would then be developed with conventional, mid-rise, multi-family buildings accessed through the mixed-use development on Lot 15C. These buildings are also envisioned to be four-story buildings that will add an additional 96 residential units. A series of walking trails is also planned, with a path located along the main access road as well as a separate trail on the east side through the wooded portion of the property. To develop the parcels, the main access road would need to be accepted as a city street, which involves upgrades to the existing roadway corridor and building a new access point onto Hackett Hill Road. All traffic to and from the development will be accessed via the Hackett Hill neighborhood to the north. Socha Companies will need to work with the city to prepare a Traffic Impact Assessment that studies the potential impacts to the Hackett Hill Road and Route 3A roadway networks. The subject parcels, and all parcels in the Northwest Business Park, are currently zoned Research Park, which doesn't support the uses of the Innovation Village envisioned by the city's Master Plan. Some level of rezoning of the parcels or reimagining of the ordinance will be needed. Mayor Jay Ruais declined to comment on the proposal ahead of Tuesday's meeting. A request for comment from William Socha was not immediately returned. Hackett Hill history The Hackett Hill area has a long history of drawing interest from developers, with little development to show for it. In 2018, Manchester developer Richard Danais gave up on land off Hackett Hill Road once touted as a prime setting for a high-end corporate park, after he and city officials disagreed over the future of the property. Danais marketed the land for six years but was unable to find corporate offices or industrial employers interested in the property. Danais said he could build townhouses and other multifamily residential units on the land, which abuts dense residential developments, but the city foreclosed on the property. Decades ago, the University of New Hampshire acquired the land and planned to build a Manchester campus there before opting for the Millyard area instead. The city acquired the land and dubbed it the Northwest Research Park, with hopes for research facilities and corporate offices to populate the spot. Eventually, the city relaxed restrictions and invited industrial and warehouse users. In September 2024, United Therapeutics Corp. — a Maryland-based biotechnology company with an artificial organ manufacturing research facility in Manchester's Millyard — announced it had signed a letter of intent to purchase nearly 350 acres from the city in the Hackett Hill neighborhood, with a purchase price for the 10 parcels of $4.62 million. But by December a spokesman for United Therapeutics said the firm is 'no longer pursuing the Hackett Hill site,' adding it 'would not be suitable for our projected future development needs.'
