$500m development to include 300+ apartment units, plus senior living, condos, townhouses, a hotel, retail space

The former site of the Laconia State School, if development plans are realized, will undergo a massive change to a multiuse residential and commercial property.

The $21.5 million sale of the former Laconia State School property will close Jan. 15, the state Department of Administrative Services said to the Executive Council at its Nov. 29 meeting.

This date is months after original projections of September, then November, that have now twice elapsed. The delay, DAS Commissioner Charlie Arlinghaus and a representative for the buyer have said, was because the process of ironing out title issues on the 220-acre property took longer than expected.

The January date was one agreed to by both the state and the proposed buyer, Legacy at Laconia, LLC, according to Arlinghaus.

Some skepticism has lingered on the council about the buyer and their resources, largely voiced by Councilor Ted Gatsas (District 4), since it narrowly approved the purchase and sale agreement a year ago. Gatsas inquired at the meeting about what would happen if the deal fell through. Arlinghaus has asserted throughout the fall the delays are normal for a property of this size, and he remains confident the sale will go through.

“Everybody’s goal ... is to sell the property to the buyer at the price they agreed to, that we agreed to, that everybody agreed to, period. We’re going to get there,” Arlinghaus said to the council Wednesday. “If you asked me last December, was I gonna sell the property in nine months? I would have said ‘I think so, yeah.’ And we didn’t. Is that the end of the world? It is not.”

In a written statement, a spokesperson for Legacy at Laconia said the developer is looking forward to working with the state to finalize the details and complete the sale.

“Our goal is to close on the property in January, assuming all title issues are cured, and begin transforming this historic but dilapidated site into a well planned, beautiful mixed use project that proposes to add more than 1,200 residential units, including nearly 350 that will be designated as ‘workforce’ units,” Scott Tranchemontagne wrote. “These will offer great homes to young professionals who are building their careers, starting families and putting down roots in New Hampshire.”

Meanwhile, state Sen. Tim Lang (R–Sanbornton) has proposed a bill that would reserve $3 million of the sale money in escrow for the city of Laconia to reimburse it for any infrastructure improvement costs it incurs related to the development.

Lang said he was motivated to pass the bill because of concerns that the amount of infrastructure work needed on the project would translate to higher prices on the housing once the project is finished. The state, he added, is not in dire need of the $3 million.

“Everybody knows affordable housing is an issue,” Lang said. “So the idea is that we can offset these costs by revenues that were coming in state that we don’t necessarily need for the state.”

“This is a good chance to get some seed money to improve infrastructure on the property,” Mayor Andrew Hosmer said. While he hoped as much of those costs as possible would be covered by the developer, the funds set up by the bill would be “a safety net to make sure those improvement costs are not passed onto the taxpayer.”

Legacy at Laconia has proposed an approximately $500 million development at the property that would include more than 300 apartment units in addition to senior living, condos, townhouses, a hotel and retail space.

Hosmer has emphasized the city’s need for more affordable housing and has noted throughout the fall his eagerness for development to get underway.

Asked to comment on the announced closing date, Hosmer’s response was succinct: “Terrific.”

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