MANCHESTER, N.H. – A property on Elm Street received approval for a 79-E tax incentive from the Board of Mayor and Aldermen (BMA) on Tuesday night, receiving relief from property taxes for seven years in exchange for an agreement to retain 14 affordable housing units for a period of ten years.
The property, located at 1138 Elm Street near the corner of Bridge Street and Elm Street, also known as the Lamont-Hanley Building, is transitioning from an office building into a residential building. It received a variance from the Manchester Zoning Board of Adjustment recently and it goes before the Manchester Planning Board on Thursday for several items as well.
Under New Hampshire Revised Statute Annotated Chapter 79-E, distressed properties in downtowns or village centers can receive tax breaks under certain circumstances if the owner of the property agrees to redevelopment. Manchester Economic Development Office Director Jodie Nazaka said several of those circumstances were met in this case, with 14 of the 36 new apartments available at reduced rates or eligible for Section 8 vouchers.
The applicant requested $187,485 per year in property tax relief, 15 percent of the property’s pre-rehabilitation assessed value of $1,249,900. Estimated construction costs were reported as $6,880,000. According to the city assessor’s office, the estimated assessed value of the property will be $7.25 million once renovation is complete and property taxes would increase by $108,640 after the first year following renovation.
During a special hearing for the 79-E request required for any public comment, members of the public did not come forward with questions or comments, but members of the BMA had plenty.
Ward 5 Alderman Anthony Sapienza said that he felt comfortable giving five years of tax relief but not seven, as five years is the standard amount of time given for most 79-E requests given by the board.
Ward 7 Alderman Ross Terrio said that he doesn’t feel comfortable with all 79-E requests, but he did with this one given the information brought forward.
Ward 10 Alderman Bill Barry asked if requirements of the tax incentive would be carried with the property if the applicant, Elm Street Rentals LLC, decided to sell the property prior to the conclusion of the 79-E relief’s term. Nazaka said that the relief would be added as part of a covenant in that case with future land owners bound to the requirements set before the board in exchange for the relief.
Alderman At-Large Joseph Kelly Levasseur asked Andrew Winslow of Elm Rentals LLC if the affordable housing at the property would be sustainable with the 79-E support. Winslow said he was unsure and would need to recalculate if the relief was not granted at the seven-year timeframe.
Ward 8 Alderman Ed Sapienza felt that in return for seven years of tax relief, Winslow should guarantee 100 years of affordable housing at the property.
Ward 4 Alderwoman Christine Fajardo was adamantly supportive of the proposal, citing positive development of a housing property on Dutton Street by Winslow as well as the lack of affordable housing throughout the city, especially in the downtown area.
While the board ran out of time for discussion at the special meeting, which under state law could only hold discussion about the application, the request was quickly granted during the board’s regularly scheduled meeting later that evening.
