LEBANON — Two developers are pitching competing visions — and financial offers — in a bid to purchase and redevelop the city’s former public works property in downtown Lebanon.
The firms — The Braverman Co. and Northland Residential Corp. — made proposals last week to build dozens of new apartments in multistory buildings on the nearly 2-acre parcel at 20 Spencer St.
However, the companies differ on the exact number of housing units, how they should be configured and whether to develop adjacent properties, potentially leading to difficult decisions for the city officials tasked with picking a single plan.
Regardless of which option they choose, some form of development is needed at the unused property, said David Brooks, Lebanon’s planning and zoning director.
“That property isn’t doing anything for downtown at the moment, so to develop it I think would be a benefit,” he said in a phone interview Friday.
The Braverman Co. is offering Lebanon $1.5 million up front to purchase the Spencer Street property and construct a four-story building with 94 apartments.
The building would have a mix of one- and two-bedroom units, the Stowe, Vt.-based firm said in a proposal to the city last week.
Or, in lieu of a purchase, the company also is offering to enter into a 75-year lease that would land Lebanon $7 million in the form of incremental payments over its lifetime.
Renderings of the 103,400-square-foot structure show a “warehouse-style” red brick exterior with large windows and steel balconies facing the street.
“Our architectural design embraces scale, massing and materials paying homage to the site’s industrial past and historic downtown location,” the firm wrote in its proposal.
The developer hopes to renovate neighboring 10 Spencer St. as well. The former freight house would be transformed into a 4,500-square-foot commercial space that could house a beer garden, brewpub or restaurant.
The Braverman Co. has a purchase and sale agreement with another landowner on that roughly quarter-acre property, which was listed with a $475,000 asking price earlier this month.
Parking for the development includes 146 spaces split between an underground parking garage and an above-ground parking lot. Overall, the project would take between 18 months and two years to complete, costing developers an estimated $18 million to $20 million.
Meanwhile, the Concord, Mass.-based Northland Residential is offering $400,000 to build 68 apartments in two connected four-story buildings.
The 66,950-square-foot complex would have 44 one-bedroom units and 24 two-bedroom units, according to the firm’s Nov. 14 proposal to the city.
Each building would be designed with “an attractive contemporary design that complements the downtown district aesthetic and fits into the fabric of the neighborhood,” the proposal said.
A two-story lobby would connect the two buildings and serve as a “hub” that includes elevators, a small fitness center and library/lounge.
Parking would be available in 100 surface spaces with an additional 20 garage bay spots for tenants willing to pay an additional fee. There would be 14 on-street spaces for guests, the company said.
The buildings also would have 14 “easy access” bike lockers available to residents for a “modest fee.”
The firm predicts construction could start in July and be wrapped up by 2022 if all goes well.
Both companies previously have taken on projects in the Upper Valley.
Northland completed 26 units at the Berrill Farms subdivision in Hanover, while Braverman recently proposed developing two apartment buildings at 402 Mount Support Road in Lebanon. Both buildings would house 48 to 50 units, the company told planners in June.
The Spencer Street property has long been considered a prime target for development. Situated across the street from the Emerson Place apartment complex, the parcel abuts the Northern Rail Trail and is within walking distance to downtown and the Advance Transit bus stop at City Hall.
The City Council voted in 2012 to declare the parcel surplus but didn’t take further action to market the site until Upper Valley developer Mike Davidson pitched plans to purchase it in 2017.
Davidson, who has redeveloped several properties in the Upper Valley, offered $400,000 for the property, where he hoped to build 100 to 200 new housing units and about 200,000 square feet of office and commercial space in three separate five-story buildings.
However, city councilors said his offer was too low, considering the property was appraised at more than $900,000 at the time, and ordered the city to conduct an open bidding process.
City officials then worked for years to craft a request for proposals, which was issued this summer.
“It’s exciting to be at the stage where we have two apparently viable proposals for redevelopment,” City Councilor Karen Liot Hill said Friday. “Both proposals seem to have the potential to contribute significant development downtown.”
Liot Hill sits on the Lebanon Economic Vitality Exchange Committee, or EVEC, one of the two groups that will complete an initial review of the Spencer Street proposals.
She hopes to judge both based on their adherence to Lebanon’s Master Plan and other guiding documents. The projects’ financial impact on the city also will weigh in the review, Liot Hill added.
“I think it’s important for us to be responsible stewards of city resources,” she said. “This is a big opportunity, and it’s important that we get it right.”
Assistant Mayor Clifton Below, who also sits on EVEC, said he intends to scrutinize how the competing projects fit into the community’s vision of downtown.
Lebanon’s 2016 Downtown Visioning Study calls for Spencer Street to become a walkable neighborhood with “a mix of commercial and residential use.
Below said the proposals are from “clearly competent, serious developers.” Both spent time and effort crafting concepts and preliminary plans for a review, indicating they’re serious about moving forward, he said.
“I’m not surprised that a lot of people chose not to make that investment,” Below said, adding he’s content with the options.
City officials will interview the developers during two upcoming meetings.
Members of EVEC and the downtown Lebanon TIF Advisory Board will convene at 4 p.m. Monday in City Hall’s West Meeting room for the first interview.
The second is scheduled for 4 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 3.
The groups will then deliver a recommendation to the City Council, which will choose one of the two plans.
Tim Camerato can be reached at tcamerato@vnews.com or 603-727-3223.