Manchester aldermen approve sale of Hackett Hill lots for mixed-use development
Manchester aldermen have approved the sale of six lots within the city's Hackett Hill property to a local developer with plans to transform the site into what's described as a 'first-of-its-kind' mixed-use development for the Queen City. It will feature 230 modern townhomes, 96 multifamily garden units, and 96 mixed-use units.
On Tuesday, city aldermen voted unanimously to approve the sale to Manchester-based Socha Companies, after members of the aldermanic Commitee on Lands and Buildings voted to deem the six lots (Lots 15, 15B, 15C, 15D, 15E, and portion of 15M) totaling 88.3 acres in the Hackett Hill property — also known as Northwest Business Park — surplus, and forgo a Request for Proposals (RFP) process for the land.
'There was broad consensus on the board last night, it went unanimously,' Mayor Jay Ruais said Wednesday. 'The project itself, I think, is going to offer us a great opportunity to open up this parcel of land, bring in desperately needed new housing. It's a beautiful mixed-use site with a walkable community.
'I think these are some of the great things that we're going to be bringing to Manchester in the years ahead, and you have a local developer who already has a proven track record of being successful in the city of Manchester, working on great projects, and using local contractors as well to do the work. This is going to be a true hometown success story here in Manchester.'
No purchase price was mentioned publicly during Tuesday's meeting.
The Northwest Business Park is comprised of land that poses significant challenges for development. The area is known for its shallow depth to ledge and very steep grades. The parcels being discussed contain more than 18 acres of steep slope (greater than 25%) area and estimated to contain approximately 3 acres of jurisdictional wetlands.
In addressing the 'public good' that would come from forgoing the RFP process, Alderman Joe Kelly Levasseur said he has sat on or been involved with the Board of Mayor and Aldermen since 1999, and the site still sits unused.
'Over the last 25 years that I've been involved in city politics, there was one buyer who went in there and had to be foreclosed on,' Levasseur said. 'We've recently just had a big commercial bio fabricator come in and say they were interested, and then go through motions and sales and numbers which took that property off the market for at least a year, and then pulled out. We've been sitting here not collecting property taxes on any of that land for almost 40 years. So we will now have a purchaser and a buyer, the Socha family, who have done amazing work in the city of Manchester.'
Alderman Pat Long said Socha Companies has built in the vicinity of the Hackett Hill site.
'They know the land, they know what they need to do with the ledge, and that gives me confidence,' Long said. 'The fact that this is mixed-use — it'd be nice to get a cleaner there. It'd be nice to get a barber. It'd be nice to get plenty of things that will add to the economic development on the West Side.'
Levasseur said Socha Companies will be fixing and rebuilding a road that currently goes through the property, at a cost of about $2.5 million.
'We believe that once the Socha family starts to build in there and reconstructs that road, that more developers, commercial developers, home developers, businesses, will have an opportunity to be able to use that road to get to other spots on that property,' Levassuer said. 'I believe there's another 250 acres or so that is still going to be available after this proportion is sold off, so we're looking at finally getting something done.
'Thank goodness I'm going to be having this done while I'm sitting here, because it's been something I've been really, really wanting for a long time.'
The first phase of Socha's plan for the site is a 230-unit residential townhouse development to be constructed on Lots 15 & 15D on the west side of the access road. All units will be market-rate rentals with a mixture of two and three bedrooms.
The second phase of development will be on Lots 15B and 15C on the east side of the main access road. This development will include an initial mixed-use component on Lot 15C followed by a multi-family development on Lot 15B.
Underground parking would be provided in the basement of the buildings for residents.
This area would create 48,000 square feet of commercial space and 96 residential units. Lot 15B would then be developed with conventional, mid-rise, multi-family buildings accessed through the mixed-use development on Lot 15C. These buildings are also envisioned to be four-story buildings that will add an additional 96 residential units.
All traffic to and from the development will be accessed via the Hackett Hill neighborhood to the north. Socha Companies will need to work with the city to prepare a Traffic Impact Assessment that studies the potential impacts to the Hackett Hill Road and Route 3A roadway networks.
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