MANCHESTER, NH – The Planning Board Wednesday will consider plans for two Elm Street projects that would add more than 70 downtown apartments.
The board will consider a site plan for a proposed renovation of the historic Dunlap Building, 959 Elm St., that would turn office space into 36 one-bedroom and studio apartments. Also on the agenda is a new build at 1305 Elm St. in what’s now a parking lot that would add another 37 one-bedroom apartments in a five-story building, with commercial space on the first floor.
The board will meet at 6 p.m. Wednesday in the aldermanic chambers at City Hall.
North Street Properties is proposing to renovate the four upper floors of the Dunlap Building into 30 one-bedroom apartments and six studio apartments. Developers need a conditional use permit to change the use from office to residential.
The project was approved for 79-E tax relief by aldermen on April 16. North Street is buying the building from Paul Smith, founder of Benefit Strategies, which previously occupied the upper floors. The sale was contingent on getting the tax incentive, according to documents filed with the city.
The 145-year-old building is on the National Register of Historic Places, and was last renovated in 2010 for Benefit Strategies’ expansion, according to city records. The two first-floor commercial tenants – restaurants Taj India and Campo Enoteca – are staying, and the new owners plan to lease the third ground-floor commercial unit to another commercial tenant, developers said at the April 18 meeting.
The developer said that with the decline in need for office space, it’s unlikely that the upper floors would find commercial tenants, making the residential change necessary.
Inclusion of commercial space is key as developers increasingly look to develop unused office and commercial space into residential units downtown, Jodie Nazaka, director of the Manchester Economic Development Office, told aldermen earlier this month as they considered the tax incentive.
“As the shift towards remote work increases, vacancy rates for commercial spaces are on the rise, leading to a notable increase in the conversion of office suites into residential apartments within the city,” Nazaka wrote in her review letter. “While the city must continue addressing the pressing need for housing in Manchester, it’s crucial to maintain a balance between residential properties, amenities, and workforce within our Downtown. It’s imperative to avoid a scenario where a significant number of the city’s commercial spaces are converted into housing, only for residents to commute to nearby communities for goods and services. This is especially true for first-floor conversions.”
North Street is buying the building from Smith for $2.25 million, according to the application. If approved Wednesday, the project would begin June 1 and be completed in May 2025. The 30 530-square-foot one-bedroom apartments would rent for $1,700 a month, and the 315-square-foot studios for $1,500, according to the application.
While the building is on the National Register of Historic Places, there are no development requirements or restrictions that come with the listing. The developer plans to keep the building’s historic façade, but design efficient, modern apartments in the interior, the application said.
The plan for 1305 Elm St. would be an infill project – new construction in underused vacant space.
The project got zoning board approval in December to build on an 11,021-square-foot lot where 20,000 is required, as well as reconfigure parking on Myrtle Street. The 24,744-square-foot, five-story building would have 37 one-bedroom apartments and four first-floor commercial units.
Owner Norris Viviers told the zoning board in December that the vacant lot, which is across Myrtle Street from 1361 Elm St., which he owns, has been attracting vagrants and the time is right to develop it. He plans to tear down a house at the back of the lot, on Myrtle Street, that has been empty for some time, to accommodate parking. He had originally planned to convert the house to a two-unit dwelling, but found it wasn’t in good enough shape to make renovation worthwhile. Removing the house makes room for 18 more parking spaces.
Viviers told the zoning board that the one-bedroom units would likely be furnished and similar to the ones he developed in the Bedford Block, 1361 Elm St. He said that that development has been successful, particularly since traveling medical professionals often come to the city for six months at a time, and need living space.
A four-story brick commercial and residential building, constructed in the late 1800s or early 1900s once was on the lot, but it has been vacant for decades, according to records.
