Plans for State School development include 1,900 housing units

LACONIA — Almost 1,900 housing units, along with about 200,000 square feet of commercial office and retail space, would be part of a project envisioned on the site of the former Laconia State School.

Those details about a mixed use development of the state-owned property were shared during a public presentation Wednesday evening.

More than 50 people, including state, county, and city officials, turned out for the presentation about the plan which a special committee is expected to recommend to the state’s Executive Council in the coming weeks.

A resort hotel and conference center, health care services, an entertainment venue, and outdoor recreation amenities would also be part of the plan, which is being proposed by an undisclosed developer.

State Department of Administrative Services Commissioner Charlie Arlinghaus said the name of the developer as well as the sale price would not be disclosed until the Executive Council approves the final purchase and sale agreement, hopefully sometime in January.

Troudy Vaughan, a regional manager for CBRE real estate services company which has been marketing the property, said that the project would capitalize on the natural beauty of the 217-acre property, with about 50% of land left as open space.

The housing units would include a variety of housing types — detached single-family residences, duplexes, triplexes, and apartments — which would be accessible to people of “all income levels.”

The envisioned hotel would have 250 rooms, while the conference center would be large enough to accommodate gatherings of up to 1,000 people, he said.

Health care uses might include an urgent care clinic, child care center, a pharmacy, and a memory care facility, Vaughan said.

Arlinghaus said that once the state sells the property to the developer “the city is in the driver’s seat” as far as authorizing the phases of the development.

City Planning Director Dean Trefethen said studies to determine such things as traffic impact and infrastructure requirements would be paid for by the developer. The city would negotiate with the developer regarding payment for infrastructure improvements off-site.

He said the land is included in an area of the city governed by performance zoning, which gives more flexibility both to the city and to the developer, allowing more of a range of land uses, as long as their impact is not negative.

Arlinghaus said that Wednesday’s public presentation was held at the insistence of Gov. Chris Sununu. As a rule the state does not disclose any information about contracts or real estate transactions until the deal is completed, he said, but added that the governor felt that providing some information to city officials and residents at this time was warranted.

The commissioner said the state is not looking to sell the property to the highest bidder.

“It’s not just about price. It’s about the best opportunity and the best future,” he said.

Editor's note: This story has been updated to reflect the total number of housing units in the proposal, which is 1,900.