Planners float idea of affordable housing at Friendly's site

CONWAY — While discussing a proposal to put up a bank, restaurant and retail store at the former Friendly's site in North Conway, planning board members last Thursday broached the idea of adding rental housing to the mix.

Selectmen’s representative Steve Porter and board member Eliza Grant brought up the topic with Chris Needham of Gaspee Real Estate Partners of East Greenwich, R.I., asking whether a second floor could be added to the proposed 5,148-square-foot building.

“We have a housing crisis,” Grant pointed out, adding, “A development needs people to work in it.

"Now, we can't legally require you to do that, but I think that we probably need to be having a conversation with anything like this.”

Grant and a business partner are currently seeking to turn several building in town — the Bunker Building on Pine Street and Spruce Moose cabins on Seavey Street — into affordable housing.

“I think that that's something that I would like to see people consider when they're coming up with commercial developments that we have concerns about. I would like to see something for the community,” said Grant.

“I’m putting it out there to see if your applicant would consider it,” concurred Porter, who read aloud a letter from Kaela Tavares, planning and economic development coordinator for the North Country Counci, speaking to the current housing crisis,

"The Mount Washington Valley area is experiencing significant challenges regarding the availability of housing affordable for the local workforce," said Tavares' letter, dated Dec. 8, 2021.

"Expanded commercial development, however modest, can add to the challenges regarding affordability and supply for employees of the proposed businesses and existing developmen," she continued.

"North Country Council staff notes that the Conway Zoning Ordinance allows for the construction of a caretakers unit on the same site as a commercial development within the community. NCC recommends that the Conway Planning Board encourage the discussion of such caretakers units within proposed development with the applicant during the course of review,” Tavares wrote.

Needham was noncommittal but said he would discuss it with his partner.

Porter said he feels it is something the town needs to bring up when developers come before the board.

“People are screaming to selectmen that they want something to be done (about affordable housing,” Porter told the Sun.

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At the meeting, he said, “I'm presenting it because we are at a crisis. I mean, we can build all the retail establishments, restaurants, hotels, motels, whatever, but when you don't have a workforce to staff on, you still going to have empty buildings.”

Porter earlier in the meeting had said he thought the proposal for a new retail store, 5,450-square-foot restaurant and 2,400-square-foot bank was putting a lot of pressure on the 2.5-acre site, located at 1657 White Mountain Highway.

Another issue was ingress and egress at the site with a proposal for an interconnected driveway to Settlers Green Streetside that raised concerns from Settlers Green attorney Derek D. Lick of Sulloway & Hollis of Concord.

“So with a site like this, I know I was critical of saying is looks like it's going to get over developed. But if you turn around and say you put in an eight-unit, apartment building in the back of it with a bank, and a restaurant, that I'm gonna say, that's a great plan. But three businesses and no housing doesn't do any good for this valley and people in this valley …So that's why I brought it up. It’s food for thought. No obligation to do it – but I think there's a lot of people in this room with a lot of people in this town that you'd make yourself a big hero with that site.”

Board chair Ben Colbath agreed that housing is an issue that developers and the board need to address.

Board members also expressed a desire for better screening/buffering between the site and Settlers Green as developers cleared a row of evergreens that used to stand there.

Needham had told the Sun last June that he and Gaspee partner Steve Hardy had purchased the Friendly's property in March for $1.9 million.

Needham and Lick had differing opinions on whether the site has an easement to Settlers Streeetside. Needham said the easement goes back to 2016. He said his company owns the other adjacent property, Airport Square, located to the south, and they do plan to also have an interconnected driveway there to keep traffic off Route 16.

According to the plans, the restaurant on the Friendly's site would be an Evviva Trattoria, described as serving “modern Italian food."

Plans show the bank would be a Meredith Village Savings Bank.

Concurrent site-plan and three-unit subdivision review for the project was continued to the board’s March 24 meeting. For more, go to conwaynh.org.

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