The Liberty Mutual campus is under contract to be purchased by Brady Sullivan Properties, which is looking to convert nearly 600,000 square feet of office space into a “village-type concept.” Plans call for 500 residential units and multiple commercial spaces.
The Manchester-based real estate development company filed its plans with the City of Dover, reporting it has agreed to buy the property. The purchase price for the property was not immediately known. The property has a current assessed value of $49.9 million, accord to city tax records.
Located on Liberty Way, the complex sits on approximately 218 acres. Liberty Mutual Insurance vacated the property January 2023, when the company consolidated its local operations, moving Dover-based employees to its Portsmouth location.
Brady Sullivan Properties’ redevelopment proposal notes office space demand has decreased, leading to a new plan for the property.
“The reactivation of the complex will require an adaptive reuse of some of the existing office space by converting existing dormant office space into residential uses, while still maintaining existing commercial uses, and adding more commercial, retail and restaurant uses to create a true mixed-use, village-type concept,” a project narrative filed with the city states.
The redevelopment is proposed to be carried out in three phases. The first phase would convert the office building at 150 Liberty Way, known as Dover West, into a mixed-use building. The redevelopment is planned to focus on the interior of the fourstory building, with no additions. It would include 37,025 square feet of commercial space and 248 apartments.
All of the commercial space, 32 apartments to the rear of the building, campus amenities and a management office would be on the first floor. The second, third and fourth floors would each have 72 apartments. The plan for this building calls for 31 one-bedroom apartments, 193 two-bedroom apartments and 24 three-bedroom apartments.
F.X. Bruton of Bruton & Berube PLLC, representing Brady Sullivan Properties, said the rent prices for the apartments have not yet been determined, but said the one-bedroom unit prices will be “attainable.”
Bruton said attainable means they will be lower prices than the two-bedroom units, and they will not follow HUD Fair Market rent guidelines. The size of the apartments was not immediately known.
The exterior of Dover West will remain largely unchanged, according to the proposal, stating the only notable difference will be to the area of the front of the first floor where the commercial space is proposed. Some new entry doors are proposed for the commercial spaces. New sidewalks and landscaping are in the plans, too.
No commercial tenants have yet been decided, said Bruton. No exterior balconies are proposed for the apartments, the plans state, with no outside gathering spaces. There are 3,215 existing parking spaces. It is not yet clear what is planned for the lightweight industrial building at 50 Liberty Way.
The second phase of the project would redevelop 100 Liberty Way, known as Dover East. The developer calls for commercial offices on the first floor of the building. According to plans filed with the city, Brady Sullivan Properties proposes converting the existing office space into residential units, as “to the extent that existing leases are not renewed.” The renovation of Dover East would not begin until Dover West is complete.
The project’s proposed third phase calls for constructing a third mixed-use building in the middle of the property, which currently has parking spaces, said Bruton. According to the plans, this phase would begin based upon economics and may occur concurrently with phase two.
A future phase of commercial and retail development is also proposed along Sixth Street, which is currently undeveloped, Bruton said. He did not specify any details.
The developer is seeking a change of use approval from the Dover Planning Board for the adaptive reuse of Dover East and Dover West. The developer is requesting permits that would allow it to construct more residential units than typically allowed in Dover’s Residential-Commercial Mixed-Use Overlay District.
Brady Sullivan Properties specifically states it is seeking a Transfer of Development rights for 233 of the 500 housing units planned. A TDR in Dover allows for higher housing density in exchange for a fee paid to the city’s conservation fund.
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