The State of New Hampshire is seeking to purchase the Granite State College building on Hall Street, with the hope that it could become the new permanent headquarters for the Department of Education.

Governor Sununu’s proposed capital budget for FY2024 and 2025 allocates $10.5 million for the purchase of the building, though no agreement is yet in place, according to Catherine Provencher, chief administrative officer for the University System of New Hampshire. The building at 25 Hall Street, which is owned by Granite State College, has not been occupied by the college since early 2020 despite the sign that remains visible from Interstate-93. The office building has been leased to various tenants for the past several years, though now the Department of Education is the sole occupant.

“Most of GSC work is entirely online,” Provencher said. “Classes are almost entirely online. And so we just don’t need that space.”

Granite State College, which is part of the University System of New Hampshire, is merging with UNH-Manchester to form the UNH College of Professional Studies. The merger is expected to be completed by July.

The Department of Education first moved some of its offices to the Hall Street building in the summer of 2021, when employees were forced to vacate their main building, Londergan Hall on Pleasant Street, due to an asbestos abatement project. At first, state education employees worked from various temporary office locations in the city including Johnson Hall, the Walker Building, Hotel Concord and the Granite State College building. Now, most department employees are working at the Granite State College location.

While the Department of Education initially anticipated being displaced from Londergan Hall for about a year, additional asbestos was found in the ceilings and pipes, and the Department of Administrative Services is doing a full refurbishment of the building, extending the project by another year or more. If the Department of Education moves to Hall Street, Londergan Hall will eventually be filled by another state agency.

Commissioner Frank Edelblut submitted the capital request item to purchase the building at 25 Hall Street. He said department employees have enjoyed working in the building. The Hall Street location, just off I-93, is convenient for the 7,000 or so outside visitors who come to the department each year.

“We like the building, it has been very useful for us,” Edelblut said. “The feedback that we’ve gotten from people is it’s very convenient. And because it has some classroom space, we’re able to host trainings and meetings for educators. In a short amount of time, it’s worked out pretty well for us.”

Currently, no sale agreement is in place between the State and the University System, and the funding is contingent on the state legislature approving the Governor’s capital budget. The University System has requested proposals to get an appraisal done of the building.

“If the state doesn’t want to buy the building, the University System will likely sell the building for fair value, because we don’t need the space,” Provencher said.

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