Town Manager John Eastman told selectmen last Tuesday he knows who the new owner is of the former Town Hall, which sold at auction last month. That person currently runs an STR at the former Methodist Church in Conway Village.

The old town hall became redundant after the townt several years ago moved its offices to Conway Village. The old town hall then became the annex, home to the supervisors of the checklist and several businesses.

The sale was held by N.H. Tax Deed and Property Auctions at Conway’s new town hall at 23 Main St. on Nov. 9 at 11 a.m. The auction was led by father-and-son duo Rick and Weston Sager. About 17 people attended in person, and others bid online.

An online bidder won the auction with a bid of $335,000. Greg Fecteau, the backup bidder who owns Frye’s Store next-door to the old town hall, told the Sun he would have liked to convert the building into long-term rental apartments. The 2½-story structure is zoned village commercial.

Selectman Steve Porter at the Nov. 26 meeting told Town Manager John Eastman, “Inquiring minds want to know if you’ve heard who recently purchased the old town hall.”

Eastman said he didn’t know the buyer’s name but heard it was the same person who bought the former Methodist Church building in Conway Village.

The former Methodist church property is currently listed as an Airbnb short-term rental.

The property at 121 Main St. in Conway Village is owned by “AND AS IT IS SUCH, LLC,” which has an address in Warwick, R.I., and a mailing address in Holden, Mass., according to town and state records. The Secretary of State’s Office identifies the principals of AND AS IT IS SUCH LLC as Matt and Robert Tonning.

The two businesses currently operating out of the town annex are Valley Vision, and Smart Equipment Innovators, owned by David Schurman.

Eastman said it’s his understanding that Valley Vision wouldn’t have to move immediately and that the new owners are exploring their options for the building.

Sager said he expects the closing to happen before the Dec. 12 deadline.

The Sun published a story about the Tonning brothers last year when they bought the church. Matt Tonning, a firefighter from Rhode Island, with his brother Bob, a civil engineer, develops rental properties. Preserving the look of the church was important to the brothers. “We wanted to maintain the space with its stained-glass windows and leave the exterior of the building as unchanged as possible,” Matt said in 2023, adding, “It’s an iconic building which no longer serves its original purpose, so we wanted to preserve its past while creating a new future for it.”

The old town hall comes with a covenant to preserve the exterior, as well as protect a nearby fire pond.

These articles are being shared by partners in the Granite State News Collaborative. For more information, visit collaborativenh.org.