Portsmouth, developer Mark McNabb work on downtown land swap: Here's why

PORTSMOUTH — The city and developer Mark McNabb are working on a land swap that would allow the developer to own all of Haven Court, which he is planning to pay to upgrade, along with High and Ladd streets, and the utilities underneath the roadways.

McNabb reached out to the city about the proposed deal after one of his LLCs entered into a purchase and sale agreement to acquire the former J.J. Newberry property , he wrote in a letter to the city.

“While completing due diligence on the J.J. Newberry parcel, we discovered that the High-Hanover parking garage has been built onto land” owned by his One Market Square company, McNabb stated in the letter to City Manager Karen Conard.

To resolve the issue, McNabb proposed giving the roughly 800 square feet of the garage land that sits on his property in exchange for a portion of city land adjacent to Fleet Street, which would give his company title to the “entirety of Haven Court,” according to Deputy City Attorney Trevor McCourt.

McNabb previously offered — and the city agreed — to pay potentially "several million dollars" to beautify and dramatically upgrade the area around the city’s High-Hanover parking garage, which is adjacent to his 1 Congress St. mixed-use project. Haven Court is also adjacent to the properties.

Making Haven Court pedestrian friendly

In addition to improving the streetscape — which includes widening sidewalks, adding decorative lights and sprucing up the landscaping — the project also calls for “a complete rebuild of the underground infrastructure, which is failing and causing issues to some of the surrounding buildings,” architect Tracy Kozak, who has worked with McNabb on several projects, previously told the City Council.

McNabb explained in his land swap proposal his team plans to “remove the hill portion of Haven Court and connect High Street with Fleet Street for an easy to walk, handicap accessible and safe for pedestrian connection.”

Making Haven Court handicap accessible “also creates a safer walking surface in the winter” and helps to install and maintain underground utilities, McNabb said.

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Plus, McNabb wrote, lowering Haven Court “also allows a new retail storefront to be installed in the brick wall of J.J. Newberry, thereby creating street-level retail space.” That would connect the “retail experience with Fleet Street and High Street and bring to life Haven Court,” McNabb wrote.

All of it would be paid for by One Market Square LLC., McNabb said. He is the principal of the LLC, according to city and state documents.

McCourt said the land swap, if ultimately approved by the council, would amend the initial agreement between McNabb and the city.

The City Council voted to refer the proposed land swap to the city Planning Board for a report back.

The J.J. Newberry department store and lunch counter closed for good in 1992. The property is now home to the Thirsty Moose Taphouse and Tres Diana salon.

The former J.J. Newberry building was built in 1920 and was most recently appraised for $8.1 million.

Second extension for McNabb's Congress Street development

The city's Historic District Commission voted in August 2022 to grant a certificate of approval for McNabb’s redevelopment of 1 Congress St.

The project, when work gets underway, will feature apartments, office and retail, according to plans filed with the city. It includes renovating and restoring two historic buildings and constructing a three-story addition on what is now a surface parking lot.

The HDC recently voted to grant a second one-year extension for the project’s certificate of approval.

The 1-3 Congress St. property is located close to the former J.J. Newberry store building and across the street from North Church.

Kozak told the HDC in June that the first extension request “was to coordinate the off-site improvements.”

“There’s an extensive off-site plan to improve the pedestrian ways behind this lot connecting essentially Commercial Alley with Fleet Street, to bring that pedestrian experience all the way to Fleet Street through what is now Haven Court,” she told the HDC.

McNabb asked for the second extension, Kozak said, after reaching the agreement to buy the former J.J. Newberry’s property.

“We want to be able to design Haven Court before building the building, and we need to coordinate all the pieces with all the abutting properties, and the city utilities that go through there to make that work,” she said.

This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: Portsmouth, developer Mark McNabb work on downtown land swap: Here's why