Dover affordable housing plan: 48 units. Here are details.

DOVER — Forty-eight affordable housing units and a commercial building are proposed to be built at 52 Old Rochester Road .

An existing office, apartment and a detached garage on the site would be replaced with the 48 one-bedroom units, spread out across two new three-story residential buildings, and a third building dedicated to commercial uses, according to plans filed with the city. The residential buildings would have a 6,007-square-foot footprint, while the commercial building would have a 3,009-square-foot footprint.

The updated pitch from Dover developer Robert Paolini, the principal behind applicant and Central Avenue-based business Dover Development LLC, will be heard by the city’s Technical Review Committee in early August. Paolini’s company is the owner of the site.

What would rent cost at affordable housing units in Dover?

The two proposed residential buildings would each have 24 units priced in accordance with fair market rates as set by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. The federal department’s fair market rental rates for the Portsmouth to Rochester region state a one-bedroom housing unit should cost a maximum $1,582 a month.

Plans for the proposed commercial building at the front of the Old Rochester Road property have not been finalized by the developer.

“The commercial building is currently contemplated for 4 separate uses, but will be subject to change during finalization and fit-up,” reads a project narrative from Berry Surveying and Engineering on behalf of Paolini’s plan. “The project design currently (assumes) the majority of the commercial building will be office space with a gym and (laundromat).”

The new development, if approved, would be connected to the city’s water and sewer systems. Eighty-seven parking spaces are proposed for the site, in addition to an access point from a new private roadway that would be named “Blazer Drive.”

The private construction is estimated to cost $6.5 million as a whole, per the proposal.

The proposal notes the site was previously approved for 15 mixed-use condominium structures, a permit that has since expired. The proposed project would be located in Dover’s commercial zoning district.

“The minimum lot size of 20,000 square feet encourages moderately sized commercial uses,” city code says of the zoning district. “The district provides economic development opportunities for a mix of land uses, including retail sales, personal services, restaurants, automobile sales, hotels, offices, banks, and theaters. Other commercial uses and multifamily dwellings are allowed by special exception.”

In 2023, the applicant received a city variance for the project, allowing the project to go forward as designed, with the proposed residential and commercial uses located in separate structures.

The applicant needs city approval to purchase 34 of the proposed residential units through the city’s transfer of development rights program for no fee because of the affordable housing component.

The proposal will go before the Technical Review Committee on Thursday, Aug. 8, at 10:30 a.m. in City Hall.

This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: Dover affordable housing plan: 48 units. Here are details.