Facelift signals new life for Gilford Airport Plaza

A new facade, parking lot improvements, and a soon-to-be-open access road are new improvements designed to make the Gilford Airport Plaza more attractive to potential tenants. (Tom Caldwell/Laconia Daily Sun)

By THOMAS P. CALDWELL, LACONIA DAILY SUN

GILFORD — Stuart Scharff of WJP Development, along with his business partner, Jeffrey Gilbert, hope to see Gilford Commons become as successful as their commercial ventures elsewhere in New Hampshire.

Since purchasing the 10-acre parcel in June 2015, the owners of what has been known as the Gilford Airport Plaza have invested in a new facade, repaved the parking lot, and installed new LED lighting, and they’re now awaiting a new arm for the traffic light that will allow them to open a new access road across from the exit to the Gilford Bypass.

“Jeff Gilbert and I are very excited about the changes,” Scharff said of the improvement project. “We’ve been talking to a lot of potential tenants, and we’re hoping to have a good mix there. A good restaurant is a need that’s been identified by the town and people we’ve talked with.”

WJP has other properties in Exeter, Littleton and Rochester, all similarly situated neighborhood retail centers that provide good examples of what they try to do, Scharff said. In Exeter, they brought in a Margaritas, and the Littleton location attracted a TJ Maxx.

“One of my favorite calls was from TJ Maxx, saying they made a big mistake when locating at our property in Littleton. They didn’t put in enough cash registers,” Scharff said.

The Littleton shopping center was half-empty, under-leased, and renting at below-market rates when they purchased the property. Today, most of the space is leased, and they hope to fill it soon, Scharff said.

Improvements in Gilford have been a long time coming, he said. They have had a management lease on the buildings, with limited terms, since 2008, but without ownership that included the land, they were reluctant to put a lot of money into the property. They finally arranged the purchase with Dick Persons and the trust that held title to the property.

The new access road was considered a priority, Scharff said, since their only entrance currently is off Old Lakeshore Road.

“A lot of traffic comes by in front of the center, but there’s also a lot off the bypass, and the traffic looks right at our property but doesn’t have access,” Scharff said. “Particularly for retail, convenience and access are important, so the road would make a big difference to that shopping center.”

While the access road was completed last month, it remains barricaded because the light arm has not yet arrived. The manufacturer cannot deliver it until mid-August, and then it must be configured for use, Scharff said.

The parking lot and the facade are the most visible elements of the property, he said, and Gilford 8 Cinema, the lead tenant, had approached them about making those improvements.

“It was already on our minds,” Scharff said. “Having a cinema was traditionally seen as a negative because it took up so many parking spaces, but now, with what the internet has done to retail stores, it’s considered a real plus to bring people there, so having them stay was key to us, and remodeling and making it appealing was part of that.”

As part of their efforts at Gilford Commons, they also upgraded the interior space, bringing everything up to the latest life-safety codes.

The last step, he said, is to replace the old pylons with new signs to improve the appearance and better showcase who the tenants are. In addition to Gilford 8, the Gilford House of Pizza and Consolidated Electrical Distributors, Inc., occupy space in the 60,328-square-foot building, leaving between 23,000 and 30,000 square feet of unoccupied space that could be configured in various ways to meet the needs of future tenants.

“We feel very strongly that our tenants’ success is our success,” Scharff said. “Something we’re working hard on is to be sensitive, and concentrate on neighborhood, service-oriented spaces. What we’re doing is looking at more internet-resistant businesses, such as restaurants, fitness centers, and entertainment, where people come to the property to eat, get a haircut, or see a movie. There are good examples around the country of uses that are hard to reproduce on the internet.”

He acknowledged that there’s a lot of retail competition in the Tilton area, but said there’s also a lot of traffic on the bypass and going by the front door of Gilford Commons, especially during the summer.

In addition to the interior space, the property could offer pad space for a tenant looking for an attractive setting with good visibility, and Scharff said they have discussed that possibility with town planners, although it would require submitting a new site plan.

“We’re excited about it,” he said. “It’s a challenge, but our concept plan will be completed with the new signage and the opening of the access road.”

A new access road to the Gilford Airport Plaza stands ready for use as soon as an arm for the traffic lights can be installed, across from the exit of the Gilford Bypass. (Tom Caldwell/Laconia Daily Sun)

The new facade and other improvements to the Gilford Airport Plaza will make the neighborhood shopping center more inviting to customers and tenants of the property. (Tom Caldwell/Laconia Daily Sun)