Peter Eggleston’s plans for bringing Smuttynose Brewery into Newmarket were almost a sure thing. After two years of negotiations, however, the deal fell apart earlier this fall, and now the Newmarket Community Development Corporation, which owns the mills, is looking at ways to make the process easier for developers to navigate.

Arlon Chaffee serves as vice-chairman of the NCDC. He said that Eggleston’s proposal was “a very promising thing” that fell apart at the end.

Plans for Smuttynose’s entry into the Newmarket mills began in the summer of 2003, Eggleston said. They culminated in early fall of this year, because, as Eggleston puts it, “At the end of the day, I really wasn’t able to get the kinds of answers I felt that I needed to really feel the risk I was taking … was supported by a sound plan.”

Chaffee said the NCDC will be working with town officials to hire a consultant to help assist in developing the mills. Representatives from the Town Council and the town’s tax increment financing advisory board are involved in the search. Chaffee said the NCDC hopes to hire a consultant by March.

“We’re looking to formalize the process a little bit,” he said. This includes putting together a “developer’s kit,” which Chaffee said will list what the NCDC and other parties involved in the project are looking for when it comes to development.

The development of the mills is part of a much larger revitalization plan for Newmarket’s downtown. This plan includes renovating the southern portion of Route 108 as it leads into the center of town and, in the future, refurbishing the sidewalks and lighting downtown. The town also has plans to turn a parcel of property behind the library, at the intersection of Elm and Spring streets, into a combination of municipal parking and a bus stop.

“We expect the consultant to conduct public sessions to really engage all the stakeholders,” Chaffee said. “That’s why we’re really keen on working with the town and the stakeholders to make sure everybody’s vision is in alignment. That’s kind of the consultant’s job—to assess the visions and synthesize them.”

However, not all the stakeholders are currently engaged. Clay Mitchell is the town planner for Newmarket. He said that so far, the planning board has not been directly involved in the development of the mills, but that may change.

“The planning board is concerned about its level of involvement in the whole process,” he said. The board will discuss its role in mill development plans this week with the NCDC, according to Mitchell.

That was a concern for Eggleston when he was dealing with the town. Though various factors led to the deal falling apart, the core cause was a lack of communication between the town, the NCDC, Smuttynose and various other stakeholders in the project.

“The only glue holding it all together was me, and that simply wasn’t my job,” he says.

Eggleston was in talks to purchase four of the mill buildings, which would house the Smuttynose brewery and offices and a restaurant. The estimated cost was more than $8 million, according to Eggleston. Talks began to break down when the NCDC asked Eggleston to develop, at his expense, an additional 10,000 square feet of mill space that would be returned to the NCDC for its use.

“Ten thousand square feet is an enormous amount of space, and to take it off my rent rolls and develop it at my expense … was an absolute deal breaker,” he said.

Eggleston said he’s disappointed things turned out poorly, but he’s “even more energized” about looking for a new location.

Since Eggleston pulled out of the development, Chaffee said the NCDC has been approached by “a number of other interested developers.” He said the NCDC is looking for a mix of development options for the mill, including retail, residential and office space. Above all, Chaffee said the NCDC would like a developer that will bring in something that draws people to the area, in order to further Newmarket’s growth as a “destination” town.

Though he hasn’t crossed Newmarket off his list forever, Eggleston said the town and the NCDC need to do a lot of work before they start interviewing future developers, especially those who are more interested in the bottom line than in living and working in the community.

“They’re going to be dealing with a parade of developers who are in the business as developers and are not going to be there to sink down their roots,” he said.