Christianne Jones spent three months searching for housing in the Concord area before she found her current apartment, a renovated classroom at the site of the former Pembroke Village School.
“I couldn’t have asked for any better. Everything was modern. It was just beautiful, and I feel in love with it. So, I said, ‘Yeah, I’m gonna move here. This is the place,'” said Jones, a retired state employee.
Pembroke is now seeing multiple developments in the works, notably the former school and TD Bank buildings. Both are within walking distance of the historic Suncook Village, whose recent economic revitalization with new small businesses is bringing more visitors to the area.
Renovating a former school
In the two years since Jones began calling the old school home, she has seen the development transform.
The original 1907 building filled its 10 brand new apartments with residents, and construction changed the 1957 classroom addition into a set of six single-story accessible units designed for anyone seeking somewhere to age in place.
Next spring, the project will continue with the demolition of the school’s old gym and back row of classrooms, which date back to 1954, to build 16 more units. The project will then be complete along with a covered parking lot out front and a rock garden installed where the current gym sits.
“This summer, I would leave my apartment, and there would be like a couple of older people, like my age, that would be outside walking around, looking at the place, and they used to go to school here,” said Jones, who said she’s enjoyed inviting people inside to look around.
Sarandis Karathanasis purchased the property from the Pembroke School District in 2018 through his company, Cornerstone Realty Holdings LLC, at the end of the school year. The elementary school, which housed kindergarten through fourth-grade operations, consolidated with the Pembroke Hill School on Belanger Drive.
“Personally, I love this building,” Karathanasis said. “That’s kind of what led us here. And you don’t see work like this. It’s almost impossible, cost-wise, to replicate today. So you know, this has all three layers thick of brick with granite sills.”
The project, located at 30 High Street, sought to pay homage to the original character of the building, including restoring the windows and ceilings to their original height, letting natural light flow through each space.
Every apartment has been equipped with granite countertops, in-unit laundry, soundproof walls and air conditioning.
During the planning stages, Karathanasis even polled a test audience about features they would want to see in the development. While not limited to any age of resident, he envisioned 30 High Street being a good option for people potentially looking to downsize from a house while still living independently. He and his team incorporated their desires into their plans, including devising a plan to have covered parking.
He said he’s worked hard to create a quality living space while balancing the increasing costs of materials and labor.
“When I first started, humble beginnings, we were renting apartments for $300 a month, and now it’s $2,000 a month, and hard to believe how we got there,” he said. “You just have to be there based on what it costs to put these things together. So, housing is a challenge and just seems to be getting more and more expensive as we go. Nothing’s changing.”
Still, he wants people to feel like they get what they’re paying for.
For Bonnie LeBlanc, who moved in August from Londonderry, this has certainly been the case.
LeBlanc, 71, was living in a retirement community that didn’t quite feel like the right fit. She began looking for housing in the Pembroke area to be closer to her daughter and grandchildren, who have lived in town for years.
“It’s great. I have no stairs. Grab bars everywhere if I need them — hopefully I won’t need them for a while,” LeBlanc said.
Jones, who originally moved into the original building, switched to one of the newly-completed units earlier this month. Like LeBlanc, she’s grateful for the added layer of accessibility.
In addition to loving her apartment, LeBlanc also appreciates the history of the development. “I really liked the idea of being in the old school,” she said.
Both women said that Karathanasis and his team have been helpful and responsive.
“I’ve met a lot of people here and everyone is just so nice,” Jones said. “It’s like its own little community.”
Karathanasis, who owns The Red Blazer in Concord, has made his living in construction. Each time he embarks on a project, he loves to see the plans become a reality.
“It’s a humbling process,” he said. “There’s an amazing amount to it, but the absolute key is to know what you’re doing. You have to know what it is you’re trying to build. Once you have all those details sorted, then it can be really a lot of fun. You have to see it all coming together.”
From a bank to an apartment building
A few streets away, the former TD Bank, which closed in 2021, sits boarded up with a demolition sign out front. Wade Libby, who runs Libby Contracting out of Henniker and Wilmot, purchased the building earlier this year and intends to turn it into 12 apartments.
Libby and his team plan to piggyback off the legwork done by the building’s previous owner, who had already gone through the project approval process with the town. Libby Contracting is working on completing new designs, which will include a mix of one- and two-bedroom apartments.
“The town has let us do some demolition in the building,” Libby said. “We’re taking down interior walls and ripping up the old flooring in the meantime, while we get the building design approved with permits.”
He’s also working on making headway with the sewer, electrical and water systems. His hope is that the project will be completed at some point in 2026, although he doesn’t yet have an estimate for when.
Libby sees housing as a prime need in the area, one that will ultimately contribute to the local economy.
“That will definitely help all the downtown shops,” he said. “There’s some commercial space down there that isn’t occupied. We’re hoping it will bring in people and they’ll buy and shop at the local vendors.”
For him, the new apartments are part of a circular vision: If more housing boosts the town’s economy, more people will want to come to the area, leading to more future housing.
“Suncook, Pembroke, it’s a beautiful spot down by the river,” he added.