The State of New Hampshire has a $70 million agreement to rent office space at the former Lincoln Financial property in Concord from developer Stephen Duprey for 20 years. The property will act as the new home of the Department of Justice, the Attorney General’s office and other state departments.

The existing Department of Justice building, located at 33 Capitol Street next to the State House, was approved for demolition by lawmakers who plan to build a new legislative parking garage on the property.

Though the former financial building – at 106,000 square feet – was leased by the state in its entirety, the Attorney General’s Office will only utilize 60,000 square feet, while leasing the remaining space to approved tenants, Duprey said.

“They needed 60,000 feet of space, and we don’t have that in Concord anywhere,” he continued. “I had an offer, a good offer, from a commercial tenant but I’d rather have lower rent for a longer term than higher rent for a shorter term.”

Duprey said the deal should save the state a lot of time and money.

“New construction of a high-class office-grade building is $450 per square foot, or higher,” Duprey said. “I made an offer of less than $15 per square foot.”

As part of the lease agreement, the state will have the option to purchase the property from Duprey, who bought the property from Lincoln Financial five years ago but the building remained vacant until he was asked to consult with legislature about using the space for legislative purposes. Last year, he purchased the surrounding land and remaining buildings on the 182-acre property for $7.4 million, according to real estate records.

Construction, which will take place over the next six months, will include the installation of new walls, mechanical systems, lighting and security systems and general upgrades to the interior, Duprey said.

Once construction is complete, the Department of Justice will be moved in to the new location and the current location will be demolished to make way for the new legislative parking garage.

“They’re very anxious to get going with their project but they can’t get going with their project until we can get the Attorney General relocated,” Duprey said.

]]>