City Of Concord Officials, Duprey Eyeing Potential Carve Out For More Development At West End Property

CONCORD, NH — Officials have confirmed the city and developer Steve Duprey are eyeing a potential carve-out of land off Penacook Street for more housing and expanded tax base, with several city councilors agreeing with the extra study.

Concord Mayor Byron Champlin confirmed Friday that city officials and the developer were exploring potential development expansion options while still keeping more than 100 acres of land between Granite Place and Penacook Street for a future park. Another 18 acres near Jennings Drive and Rumford Street was also conveyed to the city for taxable development during the next five years in an effort to offset the loss of revenue from the sale of the former Lincoln Financial building to the state, as well as the Bouton Street insurance building to the city for a new police station.

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Last week, after a proposal was made to set aside more of the land for development, the city council approved purchasing the land from Duprey. After the deal was approved, a councilor contacted Duprey and asked him whether more land could be set aside for development. Duprey agreed — although he raised concerns about a large-scale apartment building proposal for the parcel due to the extensive expense of blasting ledge. The parcel, however, would probably not require extensive blasting for single-family homes, since no blasting was done for similar developments hundreds of feet away on Samuel Drive and Pond Place Lane.

Champlin said the possibility of ledge needing to be blasted would be a factor in any future development at the parcel.

Several city councilors, between the time of the vote and the acknowledgement Duprey and the city would be reconsidering the boundaries, agreed with the need for expansion to be reconsidered.

At-Large City Councilor Amanda Grady Sexton said she was grateful Duprey was willing to revisit the terms of the agreement and idea, noting City Manager Tom Aspell confirmed during the public hearing the council could reopen discussions after the deal was approved.

“Doing this would give the council an opportunity to determine whether a portion of this land could support much-needed housing in a prime location, and to evaluate any interest from developers,” she said. “I think we should pursue every opportunity to explore responsible housing opportunities and tax base expansion, so I’m absolutely open to moving that conversation forward.”

Brent Todd, of Ward 1, said the proposal and possible change to it, “shows the impact citizens can have on city projects.” He added, “I was sure that so long as we timely approved Mr. Duprey's offer as presented, we would not be precluded from continuing concept discussions with him. I'm looking forward to continuing to refine this land transfer to maximize its overall benefits.”

Ward 2 City Councilor Michele Horne said the city would need to perform its due diligence to see if expanded development was feasible, but called the idea “fantastic.” She tempered her optimism to the idea, though, suggesting the city pursue a thoughtful and robust community process.

“We need to protect open space, support smart growth, all while being good stewards of the taxpayer dollars,” she said. “Our community has identified housing as a priority, and I would hope that we would take the opportunity to explore all avenues to provide housing options while also increasing the tax base as well as adding to the city’s conservation lands.”

Aislinn Kalob, the incoming Ward 6 city councilor, believed it must have been challenging for councilors to be asked during a public hearing to vote against a proposal and then return to the drawing board on a time-sensitive, attractive proposal. At the same time, “prioritizing urgency when presented with an alternative that could bring more much-needed housing to Concord is, in my mind, a mistake,” she said.

“I would love to see the council revisit this vote before the end of the year,” Kalob added.

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