Snow covers buildings on the former Laconia State School property, on Friday morning. (Photo by Daniel Sarch, The Laconia Daily Sun)
The Laconia Village concept, as the development team refers to its plan for the former State School property, would add 2,000 new homes to the city — the equivalent of a small town popping up like a mushroom on the northern edge of the community.
It would a significant increase in population for Laconia, perhaps as much as 20% when compared to the 2020 Census figure of 16,800. City leaders said accepting those residents would require an increase in services, but they would be able to rise to the challenge.
Introducing ‘The Village’
The 217-acre parcel, located between North Main Street, Meredith Center Road and Lake Winnisquam, was for decades the site of the Laconia State School, a residential facility for children and adults with developmental and other disabilities. That facility closed in 1991, and the state utilized the land afterward as a state prison until 2009. A regional emergency dispatch continues to operate on the site.
The state has been trying to sell the property to a developer for several years. Such a deal was thought to be achieved, only to fall apart in April of this year when the buyer, Robynne Alexander, failed to come up with the $21.5 million she had offered in 2021.
The state now has a new developer on the hook. The current prospective buyer, approved by the Executive Council in September, is Pillsbury Realty Development, owned by Michael Kettenbach of Rye. Kettenbach’s offer of $10.5 million was less than half of Alexander’s, but it comes with a much better likelihood of completion. Pullsbury is on the tail end of developing Woodmont Acres, a 600-acre, multi-use project so large it’s getting its own exit off Route 93. By comparison, the Laconia property is modest.
On Tuesday night, a group from the Pillsbury team attended a meeting of the Laconia Planning Board to present their vision for the property. The presentation came during the six-month due diligence period, which allows Pillsbury to examine the property, and while their $500,000 deposit remains refundable. The balance of Pillsbury’s offer is contingent upon the firm realizing all permitting necessary to pursue its vision.
Kevin Smith, project manager for Pillsbury, told the board Tuesday their presentation was still just a concept, his team would be working with the city during coming months on technical aspects of the plan, and the developer would likely return before the city in the spring to present their development plan, as required by ordinance. Those plans aren’t to be confused with site plan reviews, he said — those will come later.
Justin Kearnan, of architecture and planning firm City Collective, said the vision for Laconia Village incorporates many existing elements of the site, such as natural amenities, topography and historic buildings, with an emphasis on preserving those attributes as much as possible. Select mature trees will be left in place, as will the natural lay of the land and the access it provides to Lake Winnisquam and Ahern State Park.
“These are all things that we can build upon in a really, really creative way,” Kearnan said.
Laconia Village, as the name suggests, will contain many elements typically included in a self-sustaining community. The main gateway to the development will feature retail spaces, anchored by a grocery store. Beyond that will be several developments, organized and phased around individual neighborhoods. Along with residential structures will be retail, commercial and office spaces, as well as health and wellness facilities.
The neighborhoods would be pedestrian-friendly, Kearnan said, and intersections would be managed by rotaries instead of traffic lights.
“There’s a series of quaint neighborhood streets and alleys that make the neighborhood fabric feel very, very walkable and pedestrian oriented. That’s then further punctuated by a very robust and integrated open, open space network,” Kearnan said, adding the plan calls for the preservation of about 90 acres of open space.
The exact mix of housing will be determined by the city, which will decide how dense the developer can build. However, the plan envisions about 2,000 total residences, with a “robust cross section of housing choice,” as Kearnan said, from workforce housing and apartments to more luxurious and costly appointments.
Given the nationwide average is 1.8 persons per residence, Kearnan said 2,000 housing units equates to around 3,500 residents.
Responding to a question from planning board member Gail Ober, Kearnan said each development phase will likely take around three years, meaning it would likely take a decade or more for Pillsbury to complete the plan.
Several members of the public spoke, concerned development of the property could affect the views from other parts of the city, or the influx of new citizens could overburden roadways or city services.
Welcoming the villagers
City leaders, reached after the meeting, said Laconia should be able to handle 3,500 more residents — especially considering they wouldn’t arrive overnight.
“It’s over time, we know this is a project that’s going to take seven, 10 years to complete,” said City Manager Kirk Beattie. “As that property grows, so would our services needed to respond to it.”
More residents means greater need for police and fire services, and more students in schools. It will also mean more people visiting the library and parks, and more cars on city streets.
“It’s probably going to affect all of our departments in some shape or form,” Beattie said.
The school district is taking a close look at the plan, said Superintendent Bob Champlin. In terms of Laconia schools, the state-owned parcel sits right between the designated catchment areas for Pleasant Street and Elm Street schools — so it’s possible students who live there could be split between those two elementary schools. Some could even be sent to Woodland Heights if needed, he said, to balance class sizes.
Champlin said the district could likely handle more students without much difficulty. He noted current enrollment at Laconia High School is 600, when he can remember it being 800.
“We are lower in attendance than we have been in the past, that tells me that our capacity has some room,” Champlin said.
Champlin saw the proposed development as offering some benefits for the district. With more students, the middle and high schools could offer a richer array of academic programs for students. And more workforce housing means there might be more places for prospective teachers to live.
“Workforce housing makes a lot of sense to us,” Champlin said.
Mayor Andrew Hosmer said the addition of new residents is only problematic if the city fails to prepare for their arrival.
“The city has the capacity to absorb new residents,” Hosmer said.
He favors a strategy for the project to be built in phases, and those thousands of residents arrive in a steady trickle rather than a flood — and if, during those years, the city develops a clear and predictable method for regulating developments going forward.
“When the planning board and city council make demands of developers, it’s in writing and everyone understands what the expectations are,” Hosmer said.
“I think we can do this,” Hosmer said. “It’s just a matter of having a good strategic plan and holding developers accountable.”
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