Jacob Noble
Foxfire Property Management welcomes Jacob Noble as senior commercial property manager
Foxfire Property Management has announced the addition of Jacob Noble as its new Senior Commercial Property Manager. With over 15 years of experience in property management and a background in asset management, commercial real estate, and tenant relations, Noble brings a wealth of expertise to the Foxfire team.
Noble joins Foxfire from Anchor Health Properties, where he managed a 1.3 million-square-foot portfolio of medical outpatient buildings, consistently maintaining a 95% occupancy rate. Over his career, he has held key positions at Transwestern/CBRE, Colliers International, and Shorenstein Realty Services, overseeing diverse property types, including office, industrial, medical, and mixed-use spaces. His expertise in budgeting, operations, leasing, and financial management will be invaluable in Foxfire’s commitment to delivering top-tier property management services.
“We are thrilled to welcome Jacob to our team,” said Steve Duprey, president of Foxfire Property Management. “His extensive experience in commercial property management, strategic problem-solving skills, and client-focused approach make him an exceptional fit for our growing portfolio. Jacob’s expertise will further enhance our ability to provide outstanding service to our commercial tenants and property owners.”
Noble holds a Bachelor of Science in Accounting from the University of Massachusetts – Dartmouth and has earned his Real Property Administrator (RPA) designation through BOMA. He also holds a Massachusetts Salesperson License and a New Hampshire Appraiser Apprentice License. His industry recognition includes multiple BOMA Toby Awards, honoring excellence in commercial property management.
The future site of Mountain Lake Village sits vacant on Mile Hill Road, at the Belmont-Laconia town line, on Tuesday afternoon. The Public Utilities Commission approved the city of Laconia’s petition to extend water service to Belmont for the development. (Photo by Daniel Sarch, Laconia Daily Sun)
New housing development straddling Laconia, Belmont will access city water
An order from the Public Utilities Commission approves a city petition to extend its existing water service to include 18 residential lots in Belmont.
The order, issued March 25, is a response to a petition submitted by the City of Laconia on Oct. 1, 2024, seeking permission to extend its water service. The commission also received a petition to intervene from Mountain Lake Village LLC on Nov. 6, 2024, and that petition was granted on Dec. 12, 2024.
Mountain Lake Village, a cluster residential subdivision located on the Laconia-Belmont line at the south end of the city, received planning board approval in February 2021. Their plan called for the construction of 33 houses to be built within city limits off of Mile Hill Road. The development already earned approval from Belmont to build 18 houses on adjoining land there.
The 18 residential lots Laconia sought to extend municipal water services to are owned by Mountain Lake Village, and that party will incur the expense of the extension of water mains to new residences. That arrangement will serve to minimize the city’s utility infrastructure costs and ensure current customers of the municipal water service will not in essence subsidize the expansion, according to the language of the order issued March 25.
The expansion was approved by the City of Laconia, the Town of Belmont and the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services, who gave their nod prior to the city’s submission of the petition. NHDES determined Laconia Water Works met suitability and availability criteria set under RSA 374:22, III for expansion to Belmont.
The city intends to provide water service to customers in the proposed expansion area of Belmont the same as they provide to customers in Laconia, but Belmont customers will be billed at a rate 15% higher than the rate charged to customers in Laconia, in accordance with RSA 362:4, III (a).
In findings of fact in granting the order, the PUC notes the City of Laconia Water Department has been in existence since 1955, employs 17 people full-time — four of whom meet or exceed operational standards set by NHDES for “Grade III Distribution” — and maintains a NHDES-licensed water system which provides general service metered water to residential customers in two other expansion districts in Belmont and Gilford.
Department of Energy staff also reviewed the city’s petition and associated materials and recommended the approval of the expansion, noting the city possesses the required level of expertise to operate and maintain water services in the proposed service area in Belmont. Department staff also noted, in approving prior expansions, the commission found those to be in the public good. Staff opined the proposed expansion is also in the public good.
According to state law, municipal corporations serving new customers outside their boundaries are exempt from regulation by the commission, except for in seeking territorial expansions, as long as the rates they charge expansion customers do not exceed 15% more than what they charge customers within their municipal boundaries.
Since Laconia will not exceed that threshold, the commission found they’ll remain exempt from commission regulation, other than for territorial expansion.
To read the entirety of the order, navigate to laconianh.gov/DocumentCenter/View/11260. — Gabriel Perry, Laconia Daily Sun
Kent White closes on sale of 54 Commerce Way, Barrington
The Boulos Company announced the sale of a commercial property located at 54 Commerce Way in Barrington, New Hampshire. The transaction was brokered by Kent White, Partner and Principal Broker, and Caitlin Burke, Partner at The Boulos Company, representing the seller in the deal and closing at $385,000.
The 3,166± square-foot flex building is situated on a 2.08± acre parcel in Barrington’s Commerce Way Business Park. Known for its strategic location with easy access to Routes 125 and 9, the site attracted strong interest from investors and owner-users alike.
“This property presented a great opportunity for a growing small business to occupy their own building in one of southern New Hampshire’s growing commercial areas,” said Kent White. “We’re excited to see how the new owner will leverage this space as part of their business expansion.”
Tami Mallett of Cameron Prestige represented the buyers, Tyler and Michael Mallett who plan to utilize the facility for light industrial operations.
The adjacent property located at 50 Commerce Way, Barrington, NH is available for sale and Kent is actively marketing and showing this property. Reach out to Kent White to learn more about this unique property.
Commercial Realty Associates announces the sale of 161 River Road, Bow
Commercial Realty Associates announced the sale of 161 River Road in Bow, NH.
According to Chris Pascucci, “the 31,000-square-foot building, located in Bow, NH, has been an investment property and will remain as such under its new ownership.”
The seller, 164C Dunklee, LLC, was represented by Sperry Commercial Realty Associates.
For more information on this transaction or other commercial real estate opportunities, please contact Chris Pascucci at chris.pascucci@theCREassociates.com or 603-262-3555.
Axonometric view of proposed development of Steeplegate Mall/Regal Cinema site. (Courtesy of Onyx Group)
Another lawsuit delays Steeplegate Mall demolition
If you’re wondering why nothing obvious is happening at the closed Steeplegate Mall to convert it into a massive mixed-use development, consider the situation of the largest remaining tenant, JCPenney.
The retailer has sued the mall’s owner, Onyx Partners, which wants to tear down most of Steeplegate and build some 600 apartments as well as businesses such as Costco or perhaps Whole Foods. JCPenney, the only tenant that has been part of the mall since it opened, says the resulting noise and mess violate its lease, which runs through 2030.
A temporary restraining order has placed the plans to redevelop the mall on hold. A filing made on April 7 said “the parties were close to coming to a resolution” and expect to settle the issue “without further court involvement.”
The suit dates back to last summer. Penney Property Sub Holdings says the change in use for the site violates the company’s lease, which dates back to the mall’s opening in 1989, and that the work raises concerns about safety and security.
Under the development plan, JCPenney would stay as a free-standing building while a trio of four- and five-story apartment buildings with underground parking and retail space would replace most of the mall and the adjacent Regal Cinema. Altitude Trampoline Park and The Zoo Health Club will also stay.
If this legal delay sounds familiar, last year the project faced a different suit from a different tenant. Onyx was sued by owners of the land under the TD Bank on the corner of the property, which had a condominium agreement with the mall and the separate Applebee’s restaurant on the property.
That suit argued that the city shouldn’t have approved plans to tear down most of the massive mall, which Onyx said was necessary because of ongoing vandalism. The suit was settled in December for $2.5 million, a little more than twice the bank property’s assessed value.
JCPenney was one of the mall’s four original anchor tenants along with Sears, which closed in 2020, and regional department stores that have since gone bankrupt, Sage-Allen, Steinbach, and later, the Bon-Ton. The mall’s interior closed in 2022 – JC Penney and other remaining outlets can be reached without entering the mall – and Onyx Partners of Massachusetts bought it in 2023. Last summer Onyx said that “urban explorers” were breaking into the closed building to make videos and sought city permission to tear down most of the mall for safety reasons. That work has not begun. — David Brooks, Concord Monitor
