Manchester alderman to weigh deal to develop parking lots into housing | Homes & Garden | unionleader.com

2022-08-02 00:43:20 By : Ms. pingping yang

Generally clear. Low 66F. Winds S at 5 to 10 mph..

Generally clear. Low 66F. Winds S at 5 to 10 mph.

The building known as “The Pearl” is expected to have 275 market-rate units. Part of the building will have 40-60 affordable units, according to the plans.

The building to be known as the "Hartnett Lofts" is expected to have 196 units. 

The building known as “The Pearl” is expected to have 275 market-rate units. Part of the building will have 40-60 affordable units, according to the plans.

The building to be known as the "Hartnett Lofts" is expected to have 196 units. 

Manchester aldermen on Tuesday night will consider signing a deal with a Florida-based developer to build about 530 apartments on two underused city-owned downtown parking lots, with some of the units designated low-income.

Lansing Melbourne Group will pay the city $554,000 for the two lots, according to the agreement.

The company has developed the Tru by Hilton hotel on Spring Street and the SNHU parking garage near the Delta Dental Stadium and is known 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.

The plans were first presented to the Board of Mayor and Aldermen on June 21. The master development agreement is 24 pages long.

“We understand how to do these projects in partnership with government,” Peter Flotz, a managing member at Lansing Melbourne, said at the meeting. “Every project we are doing right now is one form or another with a city, university or county.”

Under the deal, which was posted in the meeting packet, 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.

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.

“We are trying to put as many units on it as we can,” Flotz said.

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. A process is spelled out for determining the cost. 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. The workforce housing will be determined by 80% rent limit depending on unit size, as defined by the New Hampshire Housing Finance Authority. Right now, the units would range from $1,398 to $1,798 based on income eligibility.

The group will likely work with Neighborworks on the low-income housing portion of the project.

The company says about 85% of the labor will come from New Hampshire, including 25% from Manchester.

The projects will be done in phases with construction starting within two years of the signing the agreement.

Flotz previously said the company is building 156 new apartments in downtown Nashua in partnership with the city. The steel started going up a few months ago.

The company is ready to take on the Manchester projects.

“We are prepared to start immediately,” he said.

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