State weighing five offers for Laconia site, including one it passed on in 2022

The property has been in the state’s hand for nearly 100 years, first as an asylum for people with developmental disabilities and then as a prison, which closed in 2009. (Alan MacRae | New Hampshire Bulletin)

The state has received five offers for a 220-acre site in Laconia following the collapse of its $21.5 million deal with a Manchester woman in April. One is from a group that submitted a $12.5 million offer in 2022, when the state first offered the property for sale.

Department of Administrative Services Commissioner Charlie Arlinghaus, whose office is overseeing the sale, said he hopes to select an offer and present a purchase and sales agreement to the Executive Council soon, perhaps as early as next month. He declined to release details of the offers while they remain under review.

But some details are known.

Former Congressman Paul Hodes confirmed to the Bulletin Wednesday that Shanti Energy of Nashua, which he helped form, and Hawthorne Development Corp. have resubmitted an offer that is similar to the one they pitched in 2022. Hodes declined to give specifics but said the team is still proposing a mix of housing powered by solar and geothermal energy.

The group’s 2022 proposal called for 1,655 units of multi-family and senior housing and a 155-unit assisted-living facility that included memory care and independent living as well as assisted-living units. That offer also included a hotel, commercial space, recreational facility, and community center, according to documents obtained by the Bulletin last year.

The Bulletin also confirmed that OAZO, based in Washington, D.C., did not resubmit its $5 million offer to develop the site with a year-round farmers market, housing, shops, restaurants, a hotel, and conference space. CEO Edward Arman said this week that he would have made another offer but thought the state had closed its deal with Robynne Alexander.

The group behind the third offer in 2022, which proposed the state let athletic teams use the site for free, did not return a message.

The property has been in the state’s hand for nearly 100 years, first as an asylum for people with developmental disabilities and then as a prison, which closed in 2009. Selling it has been a challenge largely because of its condition. It has more than two dozen buildings in disrepair and needs a new water and sewer system.

Laconia city officials have said they hope a new owner will include housing.

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