Plans for Scott and Williams unveiled at open house

The Laconia Housing Authority (LHA) and Brox Industries of Dracut, Mass. hosted an open house last evening at the Scott and Williams Mill at Busy Corner to unveil plans for the redevelopment of the property. The entire project is estimated to cost about $12 million, and the Planning Board is scheduled to hold a design review of the plan on January 5.

Cathy Naczas, executive director of the LHA, said the package required to finance the project will consist of several elements. It will include the Downtown Initiative, administered by the New Hampshire Community Development Finance Authority, which grants tax credits in return for private investment in qualified public projects. The LHA will also seek HOME funds, grants and loans from the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development administered by the New Hampshire Housing Finance Authority.

Naczas said that when the financing package is put together, Brox Industries will transfer ownership of its properties — the mill building and adjacent lots — to a limited partnership consisting of the LHA and private investors in the project.

The second, third and fourth floors of the property will be converted into 60 apartments, most of them two-bedroom units with some one and three bedroom units, which will be rented at near market or full market rents. Naczas said the units are targeted at households earning between $24,000 and $42,000 a year, which represents nearly three-quarters of the working families in the city.

The ground floor will be shared between a medical clinic operated by Health First and a child care facility operated by Lakes Region Child Care, each of which will occupy an estimated 10,000 square feet. The LHA will apply for a Community Development Block Grant dedicated to development of the day care facility. The remainder of the ground floor will serve as storage and maintenance space, though there will be room for the clinic and child care facility to expand.

Parking will be provided on the Strafford Street side of the mil as well as at adjoining lots, also owned by Brox Industries, on Davis Place and Church Street. Another lot owned by Brox Industries on Howard Street will not be developed.

Most of a large lot on Davis Place, bounded by Jewett Brook and the Winnipesaukee River will be converted to green space, with pathways and benches.

Six buildings on the Strafford Street side of the mill building, including the wooden structure fronting on Union Avenue will be demolished. A half dozen commercial tenants, including, WEZS, J & J Printing, Inc., Engraving Awards Gifts and Maheu Insurance, will be displaced by the project. Naczas said the LHA planned to assist the displaced tenants in finding alternative space.

Gary Hammond of WEZS expressed his disappointment. "I see alot of viable commercial enterprises that are being displaced that could have been accommodated into the design."

However, another business owner who asked not to be named, said his firm was outgrowing the space and that the project was in the best interests of the community. "You can't just let all this space sit empty," he said.

Naczas said "there is a need for housing and for nothing else." She explained that the property could not be developed by a private entrepreneur because of the weak demand for retail and commercial space combined with the cost of rehabilitating the mill building. "No private developer would invest $12 million in a project worth $4 million," she said.

Jonathan Halle, the architect, said RKG Associates of Durham undertook a market study of the site and concluded it had "zero potential for commercial development" and was of "no value to a private developer."

He pointed out that commercial space in Laconia commanded only $12 per square foot, including taxes and utilities, compared to nearly twice that in Concord.

"At that price, a private developer couldn't get a return on investment," he said. "This is the highest, best commercially available use."