MANCHESTER, N.H. – A set of variances designed to transform the former Hallsville School into a building housing 40 residential units was approved by the Manchester Zoning Board of Adjustment during their July 2025 meeting on Thursday.
The matter was postponed during the board’s June meeting after it was felt that a professional analysis of property values was needed before a decision could be made. That analysis, written by local real estate agent Laura Gamache, was presented at the July meeting. Gamache, who said in her letter that she has sold over 100 homes in Manchester including several near the former school, believed that allowing the building to be turned into housing would raise property values in the area since currently most of the building is vacant and invites vandalism.
In addition to Gamache’s letter, several other letters of support were issued, including support from Manchester Aldermen Dan O’Neil, Christine Fajardo, Jim Burkush and Bill Barry. Manchester Department of Public Works Parks and Recreation Department Director Mark Gomez also provided a letter of support. Currently, the former school’s gymnasium is used by the Parks and Recreation Department for a variety of programs and that would be expected to continue if the property also housed the proposed residential units.
There were also individuals speaking in support of the variances, such as Lily Foss, one of the New Hampshire State Representatives for the neighborhood where the former school is located.
Foss, who graduated from the school, noted that allowing residences would not only help the city’s lack of housing supply but also help provide increased property tax income for the city.
“Hallsville served families as an academic home for 130 years,” she said. “Affordable housing is the best use of (Hallsville) other than a school that I can imagine.”
There were also two individuals speaking in opposition to the variances, including direct abutter Mary Roberge. Roberge has attended several meetings related to the future of the school, including one meeting where she was the only resident in attendance.
Roberge said that she would have supported the original transformational proposal, which would have seen 20 senior housing units and youth support service offices. However, she felt that the scope of this proposal was too large to fit within the current character of the neighborhood. Roberge also expressed concerns with on-street parking, which she believes would grow to the point where residents, fire trucks and snow plows would not be able to navigate nearby streets.
“The quiet nature of the neighborhood will change because things will now be busy, 24/7,” she said. “There would be no relief. At least with the school, traffic was gone by 3 o’clock.”
Roberge told Manchester Ink Link that those testifying in support of the variances did not live in the immediate neighborhood and that she will seek an appeal of the decision.
There was also discussion of a resident in the area seeking to sell their home and had to reduce their asking cost by $20,000. Zoning Board member Greg Powers, who analyzes real estate data professionally, stated that there has been a significant spike in comparable asking price reductions for single-family homes in Hillsborough County over the past month. He said that the rate of sales prices was slowing overall, implying that it is unlikely there is any correlation between the asking price decrease and the Hallsville School property.
Engineer Brian Pratt also indicated that the proposed 43 parking spaces would likely to be enough to limit on-street parking given that most of the units would be either studio or one-bedroom apartments, limiting the number of residents in each apartment and thus the number of cars.
The four requested variances from the city’s zoning ordinances related to multi-family dwellings, indoor health and fitness centers, parking setbacks and business parking in a residential district were approved in a 4-1 vote. Powers, Robert Breault, Craig St. Pierre and June Trisciani voted in favor while Kathyrn Bilecki voted in opposition.
Planning Board approval for the property’s new site plan is also still needed, with the Planning Board also needing to take action on a conditional use permit for the amount of parking spaces, with Chapter 10.3(B) of the city’s zoning ordinance requiring a minimum of 118 parking spaces under normal circumstances for the proposed use on the property given its current zoning district.