Major downtown Portsmouth housing, retail, office project gets 2nd extension

PORTSMOUTH — The developers of an approved three-building downtown redevelopment project recently received their second one-year extension of the approval a city board granted to the project in August 2022.

The city's Historic District Commission unanimously granted the extension to Ocean Properties and Two International Group. The redevelopment project is set to include 80 residential units and a mix of commercial and retail spaces on a parcel that is now used as a surface parking lot next to the Sheraton Portsmouth Harborside Hotel.

The project site — which is bordered by Maplewood Avenue, along with Deer, Russell and Green streets, and backs up to the Pan Am railroad line — is likely the largest site left to be developed downtown.

Development details

Building 1 was approved as a four-story office building at the corner of Deer Street and Maplewood Avenue.

Building 2 is planned to be a five-story mixed-use residential building at the corner of Deer and Russell streets with 56 upper-floor residential units, according to plans approved by the HDC and Planning Board. It is planned to also feature below-ground parking, a first-floor residential lobby and commercial space.

Building 3 is planned to be a five-story mixed-use building to be located along Russell Street, according to the developer’s plans, with a first-floor residential lobby and commercial space and 24 upper-floor residential units.

The approved redevelopment project includes about 38,000 square feet of community spaces, which features an open public plaza area at the intersection of Deer and Russell streets, along with the pedestrian and bike corridors between the three buildings.

More: New home on undersized lot protested by Portsmouth neighbors

Attorney John Lyons, who represents the developers, pointed to “the complexity of the development,” when asking for a second one-year extension of the HDC’s approval, which will take the project to Aug. 10, 2025.

“I would add that we continue to work cooperatively with the city to move this project forward,” Lyons said in a letter to the city.

No construction timeline

Reached Wednesday, Lyons stated the developers plan to go forward with the project, despite needing to ask the HDC for the extension. He said he could not offer a timeline for when construction on the project will start.

“Obviously this is a major project, and we’re hoping it’s going to have a significant impact on the downtown area,” when it’s completed, Lyons said.

Lyons reported to the HDC “we’ve done already a lot of work” on the project.

“This is a relatively complex project, as I think you all know,” Lyons told the HDC during a recent meeting at City Hall.

He noted that developers had to meet some subdivision requirements by June 15, which they did.

“We were also required to actually convey three parcels to the city to redesign some of the intersections down there,” he said about land transfers that were part of the approval process. “Those deeds have been conveyed and recorded so we have that done.”

Lyons said the developers have a “long to-do list” they need to accomplish as part of the Planning Board’s site plan approval for the project. "We’re working on that closely with the city to get all of those items put together."

Potential phasing for three new buildings

Lyons said developers are also looking at “a potential phasing plan.” He declined to comment Wednesday on what that might involve.

HDC member Jon Wyckoff said, “I thought this was a good project at the time, my mind hasn’t changed,” during the recent brief meeting.

HDC Chair Reagan Ruedig pointed out that if there’s “any changes that have happened to the plan or to the design, the developers would have to return to the HDC."

Previous development project for same site was never built

Developer Chris Thompson previously received approval from both the city Planning Board and Historic District Commission to build the North End Portsmouth project, which was initially called Harborcorp, on the same site.

The Harborcorp development was initially planned to include a Whole Foods grocery store, a parking garage with more than 500 spaces above and below ground, a conference center, boutique hotel, condos, community space called the North End Plaza and a rooftop garden on the second story above the Whole Foods. It never happened.

The project generated controversy and opposition in the form of legal challenges because of its size and scale, and the decision to include multiple facilities in one on-site structure.

The current development team made the decision to separate their three new buildings to provide space and views between each one, which city land-use board members have praised.

The property sold in October 2019 for $5 million, according to city records.

This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: Major downtown Portsmouth housing, retail, office project gets 2nd extension