Phenix Hall, Christ the King food pantry, rail trail on Concord planning board’s agenda

Several major city projects — including one for a food pantry that drew ire from parents of a nearby school and the other for a mixed-use commercial, apartment, restaurant and event complex — are slated to come before the Concord Planning Board Wednesday. 

Developer Mark Ciborowski is aiming to construct a multi-floor building including first-floor retail, several floors of apartments and a rooftop restaurant that would adjoin to Phenix Hall, the building next door where he hopes to restore the historic stage into an event space, bar and restaurant. The new building, though, would exceed the height maximum for downtown zoning and was not granted variances from the Zoning Board. Instead, Ciborowksi is asking the city to soften the height rules, proposing an amendment that would allow case-by-case exceptions for projects that may not qualify for zoning variances and are within 10 feet of the 80-foot cap.

Ciborowski has said he is unable to reduce the height of the building to make the project financially viable — bumping down one floor could reduce the number of apartments and pose logistical barriers to the restaurant space. The new building would also provide the primary and only accessible entry into the auditorium inside Phenix Hall.

Ciborowski’s proposed zoning amendment will get the Planning Board’s input Wednesday, but needs sign off from City Council to be implemented. 

Also on the board’s Wednesday agenda are plans by Christ the King Parish to rebuild and grow the food pantry on its property. Those plans were delayed after parents at St. John Regional School, also on the Parish’s property, said they hadn’t had sufficient chance to give their input, especially about student safety and the displacement of a playground by the expansion. Parish leaders held meetings with parents about the project last month. Updated plans for the project show a new crosswalk between the school and other parish buildings on site and the addition of a gated playground space. 

The Concord-Lake Sunapee Rail Trail is also seeking approval of plans to create a segment of trail in the northwest part of the city.