Portsmouth board praises 48-unit downtown housing project

PORTSMOUTH — City Planning Board members offered generally positive reviews about a revised plan to redevelop the former Portsmouth Steam Factory site with a four-building, 48-unit downtown housing project .

The historic site at 361 Hanover St ., built in the 1800s, was most recently the headquarters of the Heinemann Publishing Company.

The project, which is being developed by Steve Wilson and Hampshire Development Corp., is proposed to include three work-force units, which would be about 600 square feet each and rent for less expensive rates than the 45 other market-rate units, according to attorney John Bosen, who represents the developers.

How the plan has changed for Steam Factory housing project

“Since the last hearing we’ve made some substantial changes to the plan … we’ve made these changes based on third-party input, not only from abutters but from planning staff and from this board,” Bosen said during a recent Planning Board meeting. “We wanted to present this, what we called the improved plan.”

Bosen acknowledged that as now proposed, the redevelopment plan for the historic site will need variances from the city's Zoning Board of Adjustment.

“It does provide for 48 dwelling units, but now instead of two buildings, it’s now broken up into four buildings to allow more light and air into the project,” he said.

The initial plan called for 36 housing units in two buildings, including a new one proposed to be located on Hanover Street, which featured a tunnel into the development.

“I think you’ll agree it’s also an improved design and architecture, and hopefully better received, not only by this board but hopefully by the neighborhood,” Bosen said.

The development team also dropped its initial plan to put commercial space in the ground floor of the buildings, replacing it with more residential space.

What Planning Board members say about Steam Factory project

Before last Thursday’s meeting, development team members stated “we would respectfully request the board consider an informal vote in support for the" revised development plan. “Doing so would not only acknowledge our collective efforts to address the concerns raised during the design review process but also right-size this development and demonstrate our common goals to make this project a success for urban infill and redevelopment in downtown Portsmouth.”

But Board Chairman Rick Chellman “it’s not appropriate for a preliminary non-binding vote.”

Bosen replied, "We want to make sure we’re not walking into the Zoning Board” without the sense the development team is heading “in the right direction.”

“My sense is that the board likes what you’ve done,” Chellman added.

He noted earlier in the meeting, "Overall, I like your project. I think you listened to the neighbors."

Board member Paul Giuliano told developers he really likes “the creativity ... in this design.”

Board member Joe Almeida, who is also the city’s facilities director, said he is “feeling a lot more comfortable with the application now.”

“I’m glad we have clarity that you don’t want commercial (space), that’s crystal clear,” he said. “This concept and plan make great sense for all residential.”

Planning Board vice chair Greg Mahanna said dividing up the apartments into four buildings instead of two “looks much better.”

“It’s not that massive thing with the tunnel,” he said. “I wouldn’t have any hardship supporting this."

Parking a concern for Hanover Street development

Board member Jim Hewitt stated the redevelopment project “has been well thought out I think, nothing glaringly gives me heartburn.”

“It’s just that it’s going to be a big project for the neighborhood,” he said. “I want to make sure that the neighbors aren’t flooded with excess parking, because a lot of those homes don’t have off-street parking.”

“If we can do the neighbors right and make sure the project doesn’t flood the neighborhood with parking, I’d appreciate it,” Hewitt added.

The site will include 69 parking spaces, which meets the number required by city zoning, development team members said.

Details of buildings and layout

The new site plan for the housing project features Building A, a four-story building with a penthouse and 34 total housing units, including the three work-force units, according to Bosen’s comments to the board and documents filed with the city. Developers will need a Conditional Use Permit to allow them to put an additional story on this existing building, which they call the Kearsarge Building.

In order to receive the CUP, they have to provide both the work-force units and community space.

More Portsmouth development: Daily Times building owner unveils new designs

Developers are proposing to create a 4,500-square-foot “shared multi-modal way” as community space, which would connect Rock Street to Hill Street.

“The shared street would include formal landscaping, lighting and street furniture,” developers said.

Building B is proposed to be a 2½-story structure with four dwelling units. Building C is proposed as a two-story duplex with two dwelling units. Building D is proposed as a 3½-story building with eight dwelling units, according to Bosen. All three of the new buildings will be located along Hanover Street, according to the new site plans and renderings submitted to the city.

“Based on what we heard from abutters, public feedback, planning staff, we went back to the drawing board to see how we could come up with an improved plan, this is the result of that work,” Bosen told the board. “We think it’s more respectful and sensitive to the neighborhood by stepping down the buildings” from the largest structure, Building A, at the back of the property, to the smaller buildings in the front.

The revised redevelopment plans also call for eliminating commercial uses on the buildings’ ground floors, and replacing them with residential, Bosen said.

“Commercial uses on this site would be an orphan, we don’t think it’s in the best interest of the neighborhood from a traffic or parking standpoint to have commercial uses,” he said.

He also told the board that the development team believes “the buildings show an improved building design, that’s more consistent with the quality and historic character of the surrounding historic buildings.”

The project’s new proposed buildings also include smaller footprints, “reduced height and volume and improved architecture,” he said.

“We think it reflects the surroundings in a better way,” Bosen added.

The development team on Thursday night appeared at their second preliminary conceptual consultation in front of the board after making major changes to the project.

The phase of the land-use board’s review process “provides the Planning Board with an opportunity to review the outlines of a proposed project before it gets to detailed design (and before the applicant refines the plan as a result of review by the Technical Advisory Committee and public comment at TAC hearings),” according to city planning manager Peter Stith.

There were no votes taken concerning the redevelopment project, nor did the public get an opportunity to weigh in on the new plan.

This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: Portsmouth board praises 48-unit downtown housing project