A view of the proposed J.J. Newberry building redevelopment in Portsmouth. (Provided by the City of Porstmouth)
Developer Mark McNabb recently shared a number of details about his proposed “high-density co-living” project for the redevelopment of the former J.J. Newberry department store building on Congress Street.
McNabb told city Planning Board members he plans to design it “with a mix” of housing units “so it never gets out of hand.”
“I would never have all co-living in this building,” McNabb told board members during a recent workshop meeting. “There will be a mx of micro apartments, there will be a mix of conventional apartments, and there will be a mix of co-living.”
“I’m the one responsible that it is a desirable place. I never saw this as being 100% co-living.”
McNabb has a purchase-and-sale agreement on the former J.J. Newberry building at 15 Congress St. in the heart of Portsmouth’s downtown. The department store and lunch counter formerly located there closed for good in 1992.
The property is now home to the Thirsty Moose Tap House and Tres Diana salon, according to McNabb’s representatives, who said the businesses would remain on the ground floor while the top two floors would be converted into housing.
‘Luxurious’ pods: What housing would look likeThe co-living concept as proposed will provide separate bedrooms for individuals — and could also include sinks, kitchenettes and/or bathrooms — with a common area for all the residents of a “pod” to share, which he described as “quite luxurious.”
Typically, he said, there would be no more than 10 people in a pod.
“The living areas are quite extensive, with flat screen TVs and sitting areas,” McNabb said. “Each floor will have its own laundry, it’s own living (area).”
He added each floor would “have its own amenities,” including kitchens and cooking areas.
The redevelopment plan proposal also calls for creating a rooftop deck for residents to use, featuring green space, tables, fire pits and a solar array.
An attractive home is essential, McNabb saysThe proposed redevelopment of the old J.J. Newberry building in downtown Portsmouth calls for a solar array, rooftop garden and more.“To do it successfully,” McNabb said about the project, “you’ve got to make it so that it is very attractive.”
“It’s not something that you’re going and loitering out on the streets, it’s something (where) you want to stay there because it’s comfortable, the living area will be more comfortable than what you can create in a micro apartment.”
For the co-living proposal to move forward, the City Council would have to approve a change in zoning for the site, to allow for the high-density housing and no required parking, McNabb’s development team has said.
Asked to describe the type of people he’d be renting to, McNabb said “probably half of the people, they’re already living this way in conventional apartments downtown.”
“That’s how people have to afford to live, they … have to get two, three, four people together and rent an apartment, that’s how we do it now,” he said. “It’s normalizing that … I think part of that is allowing that to exist so you can be an individual and don’t have to collect two, three four individuals to do it.”
“I see it being people that work downtown,” he added.
Co-living or micro apartments: What about rent prices? Developer Mark McNabb has an agreement to buy the former J.J. Newberry’s department store building in downtown Portsmouth, which he plans to redevelop, featuring a mix of housing types on the top two floors, along with a rooftop deck. McNabb did not directly address how much co-living units in the building would rent for if approved.
A request for additional comment from a McNabb representative was not immediately returned Wednesday.
The developer previously said that if the zoning change isn’t approved, he intends to build micro apartments on the upper floors.
McNabb estimated the redevelopment could feature about 35 micro units, that would rent for $2,000 a month or more.
A redevelopment including only co-living housing could feature as many as 70 units, he said previously.
No short-term rentals and a promise to hire full-time resident assistantsMcNabb sought to dispel any notion the proposed co-living units would be used as short-term rentals, during the recent workshop meeting.
“We did not intend it to be short-term stay, I think we had a little confusion on that,” he said. “We’re not envisioning it (as) overnight rentals, primarily we’re looking for year leases.”
He stated that the leases “certainly wouldn’t be less than months.”
“We think that a hotel is the overnight vehicle, boarding houses may be an overnight vehicle,” he said. “Co-living though we’re looking for it to be in essence an apartment for an individual, very similar to colleges where dorms you come in, and a number of people will flank a common area.”
McNabb acknowledged with his proposed co-living concept, “there has to be boundaries on this thing. I don’t want to do anything negative.”
Once you get to a certain amount of units, he pointed to 10 as an example, McNabb believes, you’d “have to have a full time on site RA (resident assistant). … I wouldn’t do it any other way. We’ll absolutely have full-time employees there.”
McNabb stressed he wants the management of any such housing to be “strict.”
“I am not looking for a free for all, I’m not looking for a flophouse, anybody who knows me and knows the buildings I have, and the way we keep them up, they know that’s a fact,” he said.
His proposed co-housing units, he said, would be “priced for workers, professional workers.” He added under his co-living proposal, everything would be included in the rent price.
McNabb stated he would waive security deposits for qualified residents who agree to have their rent taken out of their pay as a payroll deduction.
He said co-living housing should include annual or biannual city inspections.
How co-living is different from micro apartmentsPlanning Board Chairman Rick Chellman asked McNabb to explain the difference between his co-living concept and micro apartments.
Micro apartments are allowed under city zoning.
“A micro apartment is a self-contained unit, so you can live in that unit,” which includes a bathroom and some type of cooking or kitchen facilities, he replied.
“Co-living as we’ve presented it, it doesn’t have to have a self-contained unit,” he explained.
A co-living unit could be “half of the size” of a micro apartment, he added.
Planning Board member Jim Hewitt said he was “still a little confused” about the difference “between a boarding house and co-living.” He added Portsmouth was “not the first community” to consider co-living housing.
“I really would try to avoid reinventing the wheel, and see what other people around the country have done,” he said.
McNabb said “boarding houses are short-term stay and we’re not,” and he called that “a big difference.”
Chellman said it’s important to gather outside information about co-living to “see if we can advance this thing.”
Development envisioned as part of larger downtown projectMcNabb’s architect for the project, Tracy Kozak, previously explained the developer wants to merge the J.J. Newberry building and property with his site at 1 Congress St., which was approved for redevelopment.
The 1 Congress St. project calls for renovating the historic buildings on site and an addition in the back, where an empty surface parking lot is now located.
There would be retail and office space on the first floor and housing above, she said.
“The hope is to merge the lots so this all becomes one lot and the buildings can be connected, and used for primarily residential on the upper floors and retail/restaurant at grade,” she said.
The project also calls for redeveloping Haven Court, which runs behind the two properties next to the city’s adjacent High-Hanover parking garage, according to Kozak.
This article is being shared by partners in the Granite State News Collaborative. For more information, visit collaborativenh.org.
