Frank Jones Brewery Project in Limbo

A proposed downtown development that would transform the former Frank Jones Brewery building on Market Street into a new high-end condominium and retail center may be too tall to conform to the city's height limit.

The proposal for 173-175 Market St. is currently taller than a proposed height limit of 45 feet that the Historic District Commission, Planning Board and City Council are currently reviewing for the city's zoning ordinances. As a result, the project proposed by Eport Properties, LLC, was tabled by the HDC on Wednesday night, according to Portsmouth Planning Department officials.

This latest setback is one of several that Chris Erickson and his real estate partners have encountered since they purchased the former Frank Jones Brewery building in 2011.

Erickson previously said in March the developers want to renovate the interior and exterior of the current building at 175 Market St. and build an addition on a lot next door that is near Granite State Minerals.

He explained all of the floors above the ground retail units will be high end residential condos. He could not say how many condo units they will create or how big they will be.

Erickson said then that condo owners would have parking access from Ceres Street, according to the design that CJ Architects of Portsmouth has created. Businesses currently located inside the existing building on 175 Market St., such as the Ceres Street Wine Shop, will be allowed to remain.