Apartments at old WHEB site in Portsmouth move closer to reality
PORTSMOUTH — The owners behind a major redevelopment project at the former WHEB radio site off Route 1 received key approvals this week.
The Technical Advisory Committee voted unanimously to recommend approval of the proposed redevelopment project — which would create a total of 72 market-rate apartments at 815 Lafayette Road. This moves the project to the city's Planning Board.
Owners and developers Ed Hayes and Mike Brown are seeking to demolish the existing building on site that used to be home to WHEB of iHeartRadio and construct in its place three four-story, 24-unit multi-family buildings near Sagamore Creek.
The Planning Board still must grant final site plan approval for the redevelopment project, along with a Conditional Use Permit (CUP) for work in the wetland buffer, according to documents filed with the city.
The three new buildings would feature parking on the first floor with “three stories of residential units above, as well as some exterior parking along the front façade of all those buildings,” according to Neil Hansen of Tighe and Bond, who represented the developers at committee meetings.
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There would be 121 spaces on the 19.6-acre site, Hansen said.
One of the buildings would have a 1,200-square-foot leasing office, he said.
“The property is bound to the west by Route 1 and the abutting Lafayette Plaza shopping center property, to the north and east by the Winchester Place property and to the south by Sagamore Creek,” developers said in documents filed with the city.
Residents and visitors will access the site by the existing driveway off Route 1.
The redevelopment plan also calls for removing all “impervious surfaces” within the wetland buffer, while improving stormwater management, enhancing the Sagamore Creek tidal wetland buffer and providing “public benefit in the form of open space along the upland bank of Sagamore Creek,” which will be accessible community space, developers said in documents filed with the city.
Hansen said during the meeting the community space would not be located in the first 25-feet of the wetland buffer.
Planning Director Peter Britz credited developers during Tuesday’s TAC meeting with the community space/path.
“It’s nice to see it going all the way across the property,” he said, adding that “the park space will be appreciated in the future, maybe some connections can be made.”
The property owners bought the site for $2.1 million on Sept. 30, 2022, according to city assessor records.
The former owner was Clear Channel Broadcasting Inc., which bought the site for $3 million in January 2001, according to city assessor records. It was most recently assessed at $3.8 million.
This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: Apartments at old WHEB site at Portsmouth 815 Lafayette Road advance
