Manchester aldermen approve agreement to develop parkin lots into housing
Aug. 3—Manchester aldermen voted unanimously Tuesday to sign an agreement with a Florida-based developer to build about 530 apartments on two underused city-owned downtown parking lots, where some of the units will be designated low-income.
Lansing Melbourne Group will pay the city $554,000 for the two lots, according to the terms of the agreement.
The company is the same one behind the Tru by Hilton hotel project on Spring Street and the SNHU parking garage near Delta Dental Stadium, and is responsible for housing projects across Southern New Hampshire.
The group submitted the winning proposal to redevelop the Pearl Street Lot and Hartnett Lot into mixed-use, mixed-income housing developments. Under the plan, the city will own and manage a parking garage on Pearl Street.
Under the terms of the deal, Lansing Melbourne will pay $266,000 for the Hartnett parking lot and will construct a five-story apartment building with at least one level of parking, 5,700 square feet of commercial space and 196 housing units.
"The developer will own the entire site and all structures on it, including the parking, commercial, and residential use," the agreement reads.
Alderman Joe Kelly Levasseu asked why the developer would start work on the Hartnett Lot first, and not the Pearl Street Lot as previously discussed.
"That's going to help the parking garage be developed later, so we don't have a situation arise where the city has put forth a significant amount of money to pay for the parking garage, and we don't have the development following behind it," said new city planner Jeff Belanger. "The order has flipped."
Belanger said a previous draft of the agreement had the parking garage going first, which created the potential for a "catastrophic situation" where something happens like LMG going bankrupt and the development doesn't happen.
"That's now assured not to happen, because we don't even convey the Pearl Street Lot until after the Hartnett Lot has already started its foundation," said Belanger.
City finance director Sharon Wickens said the city will buy the garage once it is fully built.
"If LMG comes forward with a price that does not work ... we will not sign a purchase and sale agreement," said Wickens. "We will not go forward."
"So this is not a binding agreement to actually pay for a parking garage at this point," said Levasseur. "This is not a binding agreement to sell the two lots ... that's going to come in a separate agreement."
The "Hartnett Lofts" are expected to have 24 studios, 132 one-bedroom and 40 two-bedroom units. The project will fill the entire lot, which is near Victory Park.
The Pearl Street lot will be sold for $288,000. The development includes a four- to six-story multi-family building with affordable units based on federal standards, a parking garage and another multi-family with 275 units. "The Pearl" project is expected to include 39 studios, 180 one-bedroom units and 56 two-bedroom units.
Manchester will buy the parking garage "for a price equal to the hard and soft costs incurred by the developer to construct the garage," the agreement reads.
Lansing Melbourne is expected to lease parking spaces in the new garage and Victory Garage.
Of the 500-plus units between the projects, 40 to 60 will be designated low-income based on the federal Low Income Housing Tax Credit Program and 80 for workforce housing split between the two properties.
New Hampshire Union Leader staff reporter Jonathan Phelps contributed to this report.
