MANCHESTER, N.H. – The Manchester Board of Mayor and Aldermen (BMA) approved five years of RSA 79E property tax relief attached to 944 Elm St., and it may be the last 79E award given in Manchester for the foreseeable future.
Property owner and long-time Manchester resident Gary Lavullo intends to convert the second floor of the historic two-story building from office space into six-market rate apartments given the limited ability of housing in city, particularly downtown.
During a special public hearing before the BMA’s full meeting later in the evening, Lavullo told the board that his family has owned the property for decades and he is seeking to maintain the building historic character while also fully furnishing the proposed apartment spaces.
“I’m trying to do something special, I love this city,” he said. “I want people to go in there. I want people to want to be there and stay there.”
Lavullo requested up to seven years of tax relief, the maximum allowed under city ordinance, but the BMA has been reticent to give applicants over four years without either reducing rents to the point where they qualify as affordable housing under HUD guidelines, providing the city with deed restrictions or both.
Several members of the board grilled Lavullo on his ability to complete the renovations in order to avoid repeating the recent situation on Central Street where another 79E applicant needed to sell his as-of-yet incomplete building and needed the board to adjust the conditions on his agreement to secure further financing. Unlike that situation, Lavullo told the board that he has already received enough financing from his bank to complete the transformation and was told by his bank that he could obtain more financing if needed. Another distinction from that situation came from the fact that Lavullo has deep roots in the community.
BMA Chair Joseph Levasseur noted Lavullo’s roots in the community as a point for giving Lavullo an extended 79-E time frame, also noting the lack of parking and difficult installing sprinkler systems into the building as hardships that should be considered in Lavullo’s favor.
“That is not an easy building to redevelop,” said Levasseur.
However, there were concerns from members of the board that without assurances from deed restrictions, the additional units would not play a significant role in lowering costs on the city’s housing market, with Ward 3 Alderman Pat Long stating that without those assurances Lavullo could raise his expected rents immediately after receiving the tax relief.
A vote to approve four years of relief was defeated, 6-7. Supporters of the motion included Ward 4 Alderwoman Christine Fajardo, Ward 5 Alderman Anthony Sapienza, Ward 7 Alderman Ross Terrio, Ward 8 Alderman Ed Sapienza, Ward 10 Alderman Bill Barry and Ward 11 Alderman Norm Vincent.
That vote was followed by a motion to provide Lavullo five years of tax relief. This passed by a vote of 8-5. Tony Sapienza voted in support for the second motion along with everyone that voted against the first motion excluding Long, who voted against both motions. Ward 12 Alderwoman Kelly Thomas was absent for both votes.
Manchester Economic Development Office Director Jodie Nazaka, who provided the board with a presentation on Lavullo’s request, also recommended to the BMA that they pause 79E requests in the Central Business Service District or CBSD, for the near future.
Under state statute, municipalities can provide 79E relief to renovate properties in a downtown or town center that are historic, culturally significant or underutilized after a municipality votes to adopt the law locally and designate specific areas in the municipality that meet the geographic criteria under 79E.
In Manchester one of those areas is the CBSD, a region in the city’s downtown where additional fees can be appropriated on residents and businesses for specific services not provided elsewhere in the city.
The other area where 79E requests are allowed in the city includes buildings in the RDV or “re-development” zone, a group of formerly industrial buildings located near former railroad lines that have slowly transformed into residential or commercial uses. As of 2025, RDV zoned buildings can be found near the area of Willow Street and Valley Street and parts of the city’s riverfront (see map)
Nazaka noted that an upcoming tax increment financing or TIF district is expected for the transformation of the Pearl Street parking lot, with 79E tax relief in those areas negating the purpose of that district, which is to concentrate tax revenue from increased property values in that area to pay for infrastructure upgrades that create those increased property values. Another TIF district is also located in the southern part of the CBSD to help pay for unexpected cost overruns from upcoming improvements related to RAISE grants.
As the CBSD is not a type of zone, there are buildings zoned RDV within the CBSD, with Nazaka implying to the board that any requests only come from RDV zoned buildings from outside the CBSD.