Hampton development 2024: Casino makeover, downtown apartments, senior housing and more

Hampton could see new residential development in 2024, while Hampton Beach Casino owner Sal Lupoli looks to redevelop his properties and reshape Hampton Beach.

Al Fleury and Michael Kane are a few of the known developers looking to build apartments in town. One proposal before the Zoning Board of Adjustments calls for a 94-unit, 4 ½-story L-shaped building across from the Old Salt on Route 1. The other is still being drafted for submittal to the Planning Board and would bring 210 apartments to a massive swath of land off Liberty Lane.

At Hampton Beach, Sal Lupoli is looking to upgrade the Hampton Casino complex and redevelop its adjacent properties. Those properties include North of NOLA, JB’s and a string of walkup eateries like Sal’s Pizza. Also on that block are the Candy Corner, Farr's Famous Chicken and the Community Church, also known as the Singing Church.

No plans have been submitted, but Lupoli has had private talks with local officials.

Just one town over, developer Jo Faro – the father of the Tuscan Brands founder – is looking to build 132 senior housing units and 6,000 square-foot commercial development on Route 1 in Hampton Falls.

The projects in the pipeline, if all approved, would mean a year of significant growth for the Hampton area.

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Sal Lupoli looks to redevelop Hampton Beach Casino complex

Sal Lupoli announced in June he plans to invest $400 million to $600 million into his properties at Hampton Beach, including the Casino complex.

The project, he said at the time, could include a convention center spanning two blocks from C to F Street that incorporates the historic Casino Ballroom. He said he envisioned businesses, entertainment, rentals, residential space and possibly a hotel.

Lupoli has owned the Hampton Beach Casino for 11 years and adjacent properties between D Street and C Street.

The project would include a makeover of the Casino Ballroom. The historic Ballroom built in 1899 has seen musicians like Jim Morrison, Janis Joplin and Led Zeppelin perform on its stage. Lupoli said the Ballroom would be incorporated into the project but did not say to what extent.

The aged building has become difficult to keep up with. A fire took place there in 2016, and though the building survived, Lupoli said it put in motion a bigger vision for the property’s redevelopment.

“I can’t put duct tape on it anymore,” he said in June.

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Lupoli has declined to share specifics about the project. However, he has spoken about the project with officials like Selectman Richard Sawyer, who said he got a call from Lupoli last year. His spokesperson Christie Bellany Cartwright said Lupoli's team is unsure if plans will be submitted to the town’s planning department or Zoning Board in 2024.

Lupoli got his start with his pizza chain Sal’s Pizza and grew to become the fourth-largest real estate developer in Massachusetts, as measured by square feet, according to the Boston Business Journal.

Lupoli has already made some improvements to his properties over the years, revamping the mall inside the Casino and adding a charitable gaming room, a new arcade and new shops and restaurants.

Tom McGuirk, a Hampton Realtor who owns McGuirk’s Ocean View, said he has heard talk of what Lupoli is proposing. From what he knows, the vision appears to be an improved version of what already exists in the heart of Hampton Beach.

“From what I understand, it’s nothing that’s going to change the personality of Hampton,” McGuirk said. “It takes into account who our customer base is, and it would be very enjoyable for them.”

Al Fleury eyes residential development in downtown Hampton

Al Fleury is known for entertainment and restaurants at Hampton Beach with Wally’s Pub, Bernie’s Beach Bar and the Goat. Now, he’s targeting the downtown with a proposed 94-unit apartment building, boutique hotel and commercial space.

The project is before the Zoning Board of Adjustments and needs variances for height and density. It has received mixed reviews from residents, many of whom are abutters who say the project is too big. Those who support it say housing is needed in Hampton, however, and should go downtown to help local businesses.

Fleury is scheduled to go before the ZBA in January.

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The project combines three properties Fleury bought over the years, including the former Webber Antiques property across from the Old Salt. He has other properties with projects in the queue, like his planned Lucho’s tequila bar on L Street that has not been built yet. The residential development has remained his top priority in Hampton.

“That uptown project is my number one focus,” Fleury said.

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Local developer brings condos, restaurant to Hampton Beach

Rick Smith has been working at both ends of Hampton Beach for the last two years. He has been redeveloping a commercial space next to Charlie’s Tap House, which has a tenant ready to open this April. Just south of Boar’s Head, he’s building new condos overlooking the beach and the marsh.

Smith has taken the former Griffin House at 467 Ocean Boulevard and combined that land with a lot next door. This summer, he will build eight condo units on that combined parcel of land. Each unit will be 1,900 square feet with three bedrooms and three bathrooms. The structure will be four stories high with underground parking.

Meanwhile, he's looking forward to the Tideside Social Club farm-to-table restaurant opening at 9 Ocean Blvd. this April. Restaurant owner Joey McCarran, who is leasing the space, also owns the The Ricochet, a pizza restaurant in Derry.

Smith said property owners continue to invest in their land all over Hampton Beach.

“There’s a pretty strong resurgence,” Smith said. “You can’t drive down any of those side streets where there isn’t work happening to a lot of homes.”

New vision for Liberty Lane: Affordable apartments, restaurant, and dog park

The town’s ordinance has been amended to make room for a new neighborhood of apartments and commercial space off Liberty Lane. Now, Michael Kane said, it’s a matter of finding the perfect layout of units before his company files their application to build their multi-use development with the town.

“We think we might know what the sweet spot is,” Kane said.  “We’re continuing to evaluate data.”

Kane’s group, the Kane Company, bought the 104-acre plot of land in 2019 along with Tidemark. Their goal was to create affordable housing options for people who work in the community, they said at the time.

To get the project approved, the developers brought a zoning amendment to voters in May that created the Liberty Lane Overlay District to allow residential development. Previously, only industrial was permitted in that zone.

With the amendment’s passage, the developers are considering the best plan to bring forward that will bring new housing to Hampton, as well amenities including restaurant space and a dog park.

The scope of the plan has changed over time. Originally, the developers were considering four apartment buildings with 100 units each. After the ordinance passed, they said they were planning on two apartment buildings with 210 units.

Kane said the lack of apartments in Hampton makes it a challenge to determine the right number of units to build.

“It’s a somewhat unproven market,” Kane said. “We love the area. We love the site. We’re just trying to do it as well as we could.”

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Route 1 project for 132 condos faces zoning hurdles

A proposal to construct 132 senior housing units and 6,000 square feet of retail space on Route 1 is before the Hampton Falls Zoning Board.

The board will decide whether to grant eight variances for the project at 12 Lafayette Road at its January meeting.

The development comes from Joseph Faro for his vacant lots in Hampton Falls just before the Seabrook town line. It is a somewhat scaled-down version of his first proposal for the site, which once housed the former Luca’s and Faro Gardens restaurants.

The project was heard for the first time by the ZBA at its Oct. 26 meeting, but Faro floated his idea before the Planning Board at two design review sessions in September 2022 and January of this year.

Planning Board members expressed their opinions at those initial meetings that Faro’s first proposal — with multiple buildings, 11,000 square feet of retail, and 164 condos — was too large for the 11-acre wetlands-compromised site. Members also urged him to take great care that the architectural design of the structure conveyed a colonial look.

This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: Hampton development 2024: Casino makeover, downtown apartments, more