Garage for a dollar: Council approves plan to sell parking structure to Borghi brothers

LACONIA — It’s all but a done deal: council voted unanimously on Monday night to authorize the sale of the second and third floor of the downtown parking garage to a pair of brothers who own and operate the first.

City Manager Kirk Beattie said all that’s left now is to finalize a purchase-and-sale agreement with the buyers, then set a closing date.

The buyers will be Derek and Brandon Borghi, brothers who own and operate Fit Focus, a gym operating since 2018, as well as managing the five other storefronts they own, also on the ground floor.

In previous interviews, Brandon has described the challenge of maintaining the ground floor of the building constructed in 1974, while the top two floors were owned by the city.

As originally designed, the second and third floors were to be used for parking. However, due to concerns about structural degradation, the city has blocked vehicles from accessing the top floor. Only the middle level is currently used for parking, while the top floor is empty.

In an interview Wednesday, Derek said his and his brother’s vision for the property necessitated control over the whole building.

“The only way for there to be progression is if we were to take it over,” Derek said. “Right now, our priority is to make sure we can get our tenants in there, and they’re taken care of. To get the area in a positive vibe, clean it up, make sure we’re providing something to the city that’s a bonus and not a negative.”

Derek said their due diligence is showing that structural issues are not as bad as they might have feared, leaving them with opportunities to develop the third floor perhaps for something other than parking. He didn’t want to speculate on what that might be, though, instead focusing on the nearer term, cleaning up the property and making the environment more appealing for patrons of current and future tenants.

On that note, Derek said two established businesses were planning to establish a presence in the garage. Battlezone Boxing, a gym currently located in Gilford, aims to relocate to the building, while Taco Bay, which serves tacos in Alton Bay, is going to expand into the space which formerly housed the Soda Shoppe.

It would be a second location for Taco Bay, as well as a bit more ambitious business plan, according to Evan Vogel, owner of the Alton location. He said he will be welcoming the partnership of two other owners in the Laconia spot, and while the original location is primarily take-out, they will offer indoor seating and alcohol in Laconia.

Vogel said he started Taco Bay last year, and always intended for the business to open multiple locations.

“I’ve been cooking around the Lakes Region for almost 20 years, just kind of finally stepped out to do my own thing. It worked out really well in Alton,” Vogel said. Unlike his original location, which is only open during the summer, the Laconia store will serve their made-from-scratch tacos and burritos year-round. “Hopefully it will be a cool hangout spot. We’re planning on re-doing the whole inside so it will be totally different.”

Objections to the sale

The move was not without its detractors. During the public hearing at city council on Monday, resident Richard Homsi said the city erred by choosing the Borghi offer over his own. He noted the Borghis are offering to pay the city $1 for the property, while he offered $60,000.

Homsi said he made his initial offer when the city was exploring a previous one, which never went through, to sell the structure to a developer who wanted to build an indoor pickleball facility on the top floor.

“I heard about this a year ago, I placed an offer up for bid, the bid was rejected,” Homsi said, and with the Borghi deal he saw his offer rejected again. Homsi said he intended to develop affordable housing on the third floor. “I find it preposterous that the city would give a property for a dollar when they have an offer on the table for $60,000.”

Mayor Andrew Hosmer assured Homsi that “everyone here is familiar with your offer.”

Despite that familiarity, the council voted without dissent to award the sale to the Borghi brothers.

Asked about the council’s choice, Beattie said councilors seemed motivated to sell the property to the best buyer rather than for the best price.

“That’s really the bottom line with what they considered, those two buildings, although they are technically separate, are so intertwined. When the council saw this opportunity, they thought it was the best fit for the property.”

Although the city won’t be seeing a windfall from the sale, the transfer will be providing a financial benefit to the city on two different fronts. Beattie said the property can now be assessed and taxed, although he couldn’t say what the tax bill will be until the assessing office establishes a fair market value for it. Also significant will be what Hosmer previously described as “cost avoidance,” as the city has been paying for regular inspections and maintenance of the structure. Beattie said last year, the city spent $27,000 on parking garage maintenance.