State School development proposal clears planning board hurdle

LACONIA — Pillsbury Realty Development won planning board approval Tuesday night for their overall development proposal, sometimes called the “master plan,” for Laconia Village at the site of the former State School.

The approval granted Tuesday includes a conditional use permit for performance zoning along with the overall development plan, which Pillsbury representatives described as a three-phased approach which will mix retail and housing along with recreation over a period of 12 to 20 years.

“Incredible opportunity, ideal location within the Lakes Region,” Justin Kearnan, design lead on the project, said. “The site in particular is a lakeside site surrounded by incredible nature and incredible local recreation — we think that this is the paramount idea to build on for the site and in the future.”

The essence of their proposal is significant in scope, particularly compared to other developments constructed in and around Laconia in recent years. They plan to construct some 2,000 or more units of housing — comprising various types — along with non-residential space to include a hotel, commercial space, office and health care along, with recreation amenities. New roads, some public and some private, will connect the development to surrounding neighborhoods.

Because the development is to be completed in phases over many years, Pillsbury will be required to return to the planning board in the future to receive site plan or subdivision approval prior to construction on any discrete phase. 

Pillsbury Realty Development, owned by Michael Kettenbach of Londonderry and known for projects like Woodmont Commons, a 600-acre project in Londonderry, is well-versed in creating mixed-use communities.

“This intersection of civic life, lush natural surroundings and active recreation that we think we can deliver on the site,” Kearnan said. 

Pillsbury started the process to purchase the land from the state last year in August, after the Executive Council selected Kettenbach’s $10.5 million offer for the 217-acre property, far less than the $21.5 million offered by recently-indicted developer Robynne Alexander. The Governor and Executive Council approved the purchase-and-sales agreement at their meeting on Sept. 25. Kettenbach and team have two years to close the deal, and are now about a year into their due diligence process.

The terms of the agreement allow the developers opportunity to pursue the permits and approvals required at the state level before closing on the transaction.

At the June 23 meeting of the Laconia City Council, Pillsbury crossed one of many forthcoming milestones in their trek toward developing the property. Councilors approved a memorandum of understanding between the city and the development firm, defining how the groups will work together over the coming years, and making allowances for certain continued uses of the land.

A week prior, Pillsbury saw its master plan approved by the city’s Technical Review Committee, and representatives presented those documents to the planning board on Tuesday night. 

“Our development team has been working with the site since July of last year. As a reminder, the state put the site out to an RFP process in July. Our client, the developer, responded to that and then put the site under contract with the state in September,” Kearnan said. “We came back to you all in December to do a conceptual plan review.”

RFP refers to a request for proposal, a sort of bidding process for the land sale.

In a cover letter attached to the master plan documents submitted to the technical review committee and to the planning board, Kettenbach wrote he anticipates site closing within six months; predevelopment and design of phase one over 12 months; and construction of the first phase of development over three years. Full buildout, he wrote, should be realized between seven and 15 years.  

According to a preliminary fiscal impact analysis of the project, prepared by Fougere Planning and Development, net fiscal impact to the city could be in the neighborhood of $3.8 million, less the combined municipal costs related to the police, fire and public works departments and to the schools.

If completed, Laconia Village would be the largest tax-paying development in the city, increasing total municipal property assessment by $542.1 million, or 12%. That study, noting declining school enrollment is expected to continue, estimates the project would bring an additional 141 students into Laconia’s schools over 10 years.

“We think that the fiscal impact on the community from the project — in terms of tax dollars to the [school] district, tax dollars to the city — are significantly positive,” Ari Pollack, the attorney representing Pillsbury in the development, said. “While there’s always room to be off by an estimate here or there or in other factors in the report, we believe that we’ve provided a very positive and conservative estimation for what the fiscal impact of the project will be on the community.”