development headed to Bow Street in Portsmouth

After two years of legal wrangling, the New Hampshire Supreme Court has approved a proposed development on Bow Street in Portsmouth. The Martingale Wharf project will expand the existing brick building at 99 Bow Street, causing a drastic reduction to the only significant view of the Piscataqua River between Bow Street’s shops and restaurants.

Representing RRJ Properties of Portsmouth, attorney Malcolm McNeill said the Supreme Court’s decision came back on March 7, just one day after oral arguments concluded. McNeill said the quick decision was “very unusual.” While his client is pleased with the final decision, “we regret (that) the appeals brought by Harborsquare have required two years to be resolved,” he said.

Harborsquare is a legal entity made up of abutters to the development site who oppose the project. They believe the development will have a negative impact on the character of Bow Street and its views.

“The appealing party, which is Harborsquare, was dismissed as a party in the Superior Court because they did not have standing,” McNeill said. “The Supreme Court agreed with the Superior Court that Harborsquare did not have standing, because they were not aggrieved by the project being proposed by the applicant.”

The development will include a multi-story, mixed-use structure on property that is currently vacant, according to Portsmouth city planner David Holden. Without specifying how many floors the new building will have, Holden said it would conform to the height requirements of the central business district.

According to McNeill, the existing building will connect to a new mixed-use building, which will contain retail space along Bow Street, restaurant space along the waterfront and commercial space on upper floors. “It will be entirely commercial and not residential,” Holden said.

According to Holden, the view of the Piscataqua River is not protected from development by any city ordinances. Therefore, the developer is within its legal rights to build there, even if it obstructs the view.

“It is a sizable structure, but it does not extend all the way to the other buildings. There will still be viewing corridors,” Holden said. 

RRJ Properties hopes to break ground in May, which means construction on the narrow street will continue through the summer tourist season, when traffic in Portsmouth is at its worst. But, according to Holden, the developer accounted for traffic in the original proposal.

“The applicant is required to complete a construction mitigation management plan, which will factor in traffic,” he said. “It is a tight site, so I’m sure there will be some disruption.”

prison for lease

A new piece of rental property, with stunning waterfront views and approximately 260,000 square feet of space, will soon be on the Seacoast real estate market. The United States Navy wants to lease its 100-year-old former prison, located in the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in Kittery. Navy officials recently announced that a forum will be held in April for potential tenants and local officials to learn more about leasing the defunct prison. 

“We’re looking for a tenant with a good business plan, a viable business plan that is compatible with our primary mission,” said Commander David Kelly, deputy commander for base operations support. The shipyard’s primary mission is the maintenance and modernization of the United States Navy’s submarine fleet, he added.

Each branch of the military controls a number of underutilized properties. “It’s a common issue throughout the military,” Kelly said. The Navy can’t sell off the property because of its historic value and strategic interest, so it must partner with developers, who maintain the structures and pay a rental fee. Under this system, the taxpayer is excused from paying maintenance fees for underutilized property. “It’s a real win-win for everyone involved,” Kelly said.

The first section of the prison was constructed in 1908. It was expanded in 1942 and again in 1943. The Navy ceased prison operations there in 1974.

“Structurally, the prison is in very good condition, but it has not been in use in over 30 years. There is a fairly significant amount of work to be done before that building could be occupied,” Kelly said. 

Potential tenants will have to be closely screened, as security in the Shipyard remains a top priority for Navy officials. “We cannot have unrestricted access under any circumstances. We feel confident that we can work with the right developer to make that work,” Kelly said.

A Request for Qualifications was posted recently on the Navy Enhanced Use Lease Web site, which lists several goals potential developers must meet if they want to lease the prison. According to the site, they will have to “develop a successful, long-term, mutually beneficial business relationship with the Navy; maximize the value of the real property within the constraints and restrictions identified by the Navy; execute, operate and manage the development consistent with best commercial practices; and maintain positive relations with local government authorities and the adjacent community.”
Beyond the specifications listed on the Web site, “there is not a specific desire on our part to what (the project) looks like one way or another. That will be left to the developer’s imagination,” Kelly said.

Retrofitting the prison with appropriate technology for any 21st century business will likely be the biggest challenge for the developer. But Kelly noted that developers have been successful in renovating old mill buildings in Massachusetts, his home state. He believes that developers will also be able to meet the challenges of installing modern technology in the old prison.
The forum will be held on April 16 at the New England Center in Durham. Over 1,000 invitations have been sent out to potential developers in New England and elsewhere, Kelly said. Local officials from Kittery and Portsmouth were also invited.

region’s deer suffer from winter weather

For the deer populations of Maine and New Hampshire, spring cannot come quickly enough. This winter’s unusually unforgiving conditions have left the region’s deer weak and vulnerable. 

Lee Kanter, deer biologist at the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, said the next few weeks will largely determine the species’ rate of survival this year. Deer rely on warmer temperatures by late March or early April, Kanter said.
Deer typically lose up to 25 percent of their body weight during the winter, as they are forced to trudge around in the deep snow and cope with sparse food supplies. The heavy snowfall and frigid temperatures this winter have sent many of the region’s deer deep into the forest, where old growth spruce and northern white cedar trees provide a dense cover. Known as deer yards, these areas shelter the animals from snowfall but offer precious little sustenance.

Once temperatures start to rise, deer typically begin to venture from their winter refuges in search of food. By late May or early June, the does give birth to their fawns, which may also suffer from lack of nourishment this year. “This is how they build their population,” Kanter said.

Kanter’s preliminary calculations suggest that Maine will have lost 11 percent of its deer population by the end of the winter—4 percent more than an average winter. If the projection proves accurate, the increased mortality rate could reduce the number of deer hunting permits that Maine issues this year.

New Hampshire Fish and Game’s deer project leader, Kent Gustafson, is a little more hopeful about New Hampshire’s deer population. “We are hoping the snow will be gone (by early April), so the deer can get back to their summer ritual,” he said.
New Hampshire Fish and Game hasn’t decided how many hunting permits it will offer this year, but the next few weeks will determine the department’s course of action.