A proposed multi-story building on South Main Street featuring a restaurant, two outdoor patios and event space could be downsized per the request of the developer who wants to replace three stories of office space with two floors of residential units.
The proposed project was conditionally approved by the Concord Planning Board in December with plans to begin construction in April. However, the project is on hold pending the revamped plans which are up for review Wednesday night, where board members will be encouraged by city planning staff to grant the amendment.
If approved, site plans for the building in downtown Concord will be scaled down to four stories.
“When we look at construction costs and the price per square foot, we would have to charge for office rent well beyond what we think the Concord market can bear,” said developer Stephen Duprey in a phone interview with the Monitor. “And the more we looked at the modeling of the building, five stories seemed too tall for that site.”
The building will be located between the Concord Food Co-op and the bank of New Hampshire Stage and was designed to feature an eye-catching exterior. Duprey expects to have a Friendly Toast restaurant on the first floor with two floors of residential housing between an event space on the top floor that will be operated by the Grappone Conference Center.
Previous plans called for 15,000-square-feet of office space between the first and fifth floor. Duprey has since modified his plans to include 10,000-square-feet of residential housing instead of office space.
“We hope to be working with an institutional partner on the housing to help fill a workforce-type housing need, but it’s yet to be determined if it will be market rate or affordable housing,” Duprey said. “One need that is not being met well is for professional students, whether they’re people doing a medical residency, a nursing rotation or they’re a law student.”
If all goes according to plan, construction should start this summer pending applications for housing grants that will help determine the style of housing offered to the Concord community.
Despite scaling back the project, Duprey will maintain all other site plans to include an outdoor patio space behind the building that will feature a freight box kitchen and a country western Nashville-style restaurant and bar in a repurposed barn on the property.
An 1854 Victorian home sits on the now-vacant property and is expected to be torn down to make room for the four-story eatery and entertainment venue. Duprey attempted to relocate or donate the historic home and offered up to $100,000 in moving expenses but neither the city nor private buyers were willing to take on the project. The city approved it for demolition last summer but Duprey has continued to delay the demolition in hopes of finding a new home for the building.
“We have not been able to find a place for the Victorian home and we are trying to come to grips with that,” he said. “We have one final straw and if that doesn’t work, we’re hoping Concord residents can see how much work we put in to save this home.”
When the home was first built on the property in the mid 1800s, it was run as a bakery by a contractor of the United States Army who made biscuits for the union troops in the Civil War. The biscuits and bread were carted down Storrs Street and loaded onto trains for shipment.
Commemorating the history of the site, Duprey plans to honor its significance in Concord by decorating the restaurant and event space with historical memorabilia and artifacts from the Victorian home.