Lebanon
Clem had requested to move up construction of a 125-unit apartment building and second mixed-use building to better suit market conditions. He also hoped to use several lots at the site as temporary parking.
But Lebanon Planning Director David Brooks said making those amendments might prove difficult because of complexities in the 2011 Planning Board decision that approved River Park.
By changing when buildings might be constructed, it’s possible that the Planning Board also could be rescheduling associated street and traffic improvements, which were tied to specific phases of the project, Brooks explained.
“It’s simple to describe it (as a scheduling change) but the complication is, ‘How do we address the conditions that are tied to these phases?’ ” Brooks said
“What I am sensing is that we’re not ready to make a decision,” added Planning Board Chairman Keith Davio, who recommended taking up Clem’s proposal again next month.
Plans for a roughly 125,000-square-foot apartment building initially were slotted as the last component of Clem’s vision for a mixed-use development between Route 10 and the Connecticut River.
But a housing shortage has “dramatically” expanded the demand for units in the Upper Valley since River Park was approved more than seven years ago, Clem wrote in a December letter to city officials.
“We think that the city’s posture on encouraging multifamily housing is markedly different today than it was when we made this application,” he told the Planning Board, referencing the city’s efforts to promote new housing units.
Engineers predict the new apartment building alone could generate 45 trips to and from the property during a morning peak hour, and 55 trips in the evening.
The apartments would be situated behind 100 River Park, the first mixed-use building slated for the development.
Clem said in October that he was in talks with a “major international high-tech company” to lease portions of the building, which would have retail space on the ground floor and about 60,000 square feet of offices above.
A pressing need for life science space led Clem to ask to build a roughly 95,000-square-foot building as the third stage. That structure would be used “for similar purposes as 100 River Park,” Clem wrote in an October letter.
Clem’s proposal also calls for three lots to be used as temporary parking until a garage can be built to accommodate the new buildings.
Clem asked that planners waive some of the city’s parking regulations for the project because it is “counterintuitive to invest resources in temporary uses only to have to tear them up soon after.”
He hopes to ultimately build two parking garages capable of holding nearly 1,400 vehicles at River Park.
However, it’s not feasible to build the “more expensive garage solution” until there’s enough demand from tenants, Clem said in his December letter.
Board members asked what types of parking spots should be allowed under that “temporary” status, and whether they should regulate the types of materials Clem could use.
Clem said he always considered that any design should have safety in mind, provide adequate lighting and receive approval from the fire department.
“Yes, (standards) need to be articulated,” Clem said. “I am hesitant to spend an awful lot of money anticipating what the Planning Board wants.”
The Planning Board will continue its discussion on Clem’s proposals at 6:30 p.m. on Feb. 11 at Lebanon Middle School.
Tim Camerato can be reached at tcamerato@vnews.com or 603-727- 3223.