Developer pitches concept for 40 homes on Doe Avenue at the Weirs

LACONIA — Lakes Region developer Kevin Lacasse of New England Family Housing presented his concept for a project to add another 40 housing units at 59 Doe Ave. in the Weirs — the site of the old Craft Beer Xchange, Home of the Witches Brew Pub — to members of the city’s Planning Board on Tuesday evening.

The 2.9-acre lot is in the city’s commercial resort zoning district, and lies within the performance zoning overlay, which allows flexibility for developers in terms of the typical restrictions or requirements applied within a given district.

“It would be products for sale right out of the gate,” not rental units, Lacosse said. While he does develop and manage rental properties, that’s not the arrangement in every case.

The Doe Avenue property is owned by Keith O’Leary, with Lacasse under contract for purchase, contingent upon receiving the necessary approvals for the project. He said he and his engineers intend to make a formal application, and present a site plan for the development this year.

Lacasse is an experienced developer with properties and projects scattered across New Hampshire. Originally from Berlin, he moved to the Lakes Region in the late 1990s, and currently resides in New Hampton. At present, his firm owns and manages about 500 units throughout the Granite State. Some of the projects he’s built are market-rate housing, some qualify under the low income tax credit, and those on Doe will be for sale.  

They’ve built a 24-unit, single-family housing subdivision in Tilton, and another four individual homes in Franklin, for example, among other projects.

Lacasse is also doing a townhouse development, known as Stonewall Corners, near High Octane Saloon and Funspot in the Weirs. Those units start at $499,000, and Lacasse said the Doe development would likely be marketed for higher, possibly to an older clientele interested in single-level living with elevator access and enclosed parking underneath their unit.

Members of the planning board appeared receptive to his presentation Tuesday night, though some emphasized the importance of ironing out drainage and parking thoroughly.

“I would just, again, give a note of caution that drainage is going to be a nightmare if you don’t do it right,” board Chair Charlie St. Clair said Tuesday night.

“Laconia has been excellent,” Lacasse said Wednesday of his experience working with city staff. 

Conceptual presentations are made to the city’s planning board occasionally, and are a sort-of starting point for developers hoping to begin a new project. They’re an opportunity for the developer to explain their idea and receive feedback and constructive criticism, before they submit an official application.

“Because this is a conceptual, state law does not allow us to have a public hearing at a conceptual, but if you have questions or want to review either of the conceptuals or the documents, you can always come down to the planning department,” Assistant Planning Director Tyler Carmichael said Tuesday night. “We do have that information available to the public.”

“Additionally, if you have comments that you would like to provide in writing for when they submit a planning board application, you can also do that, and we will hold that with the property file,” Planning Director Rob Mora said.

Engineer Dari Sassan with Brown Engineering, which represents Lacasse and New England Family Housing, told board members their proposal is for two, 20-unit buildings, and they’ll look to collaborate with the planning board to utilize performance zoning.

“Meeting with you, making sure that we’re doing something that recognizes the goals of the performance overlay district,” Sassan said. 

Lacasse told planning board members he’s looking to construct parking for each unit underneath the building, and include elevators to create what would essentially be single-level residences, which may be more appealing to people with restricted mobility.  

“On the building, the idea that we kind of want to do here is have a building with drive-under parking for at least one vehicle per unit,” Lacasse said Tuesday night. “You can get in an elevator, go up the stairs, so it’s basically single-level living. Knowing that some folks may not be able to do stairs due to age, we wanted to be able to build housing that was compatible for them. In the wintertime, pull right into the basement underneath, get on an elevator and go right up to your unit.”

Overall on the parcel, they’d include some 83 parking spaces for residents and their guests, greatly exceeding the state standard of one parking space per unit.

“We own and manage a bunch of apartment units, and we know that parking is always an issue. So instead of trying to undercut what is allowed by zoning, we usually offer more,” he said Tuesday. “As a property manager, association manager, it's just easier if there’s more parking than less.”