ENFIELD — An Enfield developer will ask the town’s Zoning Board of Adjustment for two variances so that he can build a two-story apartment building on Main Street.
James Kelleher is proposing to build eight one-bedroom apartments on a vacant lot he owns at 71 Main St., across from George’s AG Super Value. The proposal comes as Enfield, similar to communities throughout the Upper Valley, is facing a housing shortage.
“Lots of people would like that land to be used for retail, for businesses. But right now the biggest demand is housing,” said Rob Taylor, the town’s land use and community development administrator. “No one is opening up new retail. I think that’s just a sign of the times. We’re much more in need of housing than anything else at this point.”
Thje town’s zoning regulations stipulate that buildings in the community business zoning district must be 30 feet from the front edge of lot line, 30 feet from the back edge of the lot and 20 feet from any other lot boundary, according to Taylor.
“That’s why he needs a variance,” Taylor said. “There’s really no room on the lot to meet any of our zoning setbacks.”
Kelleher also will ask the ZBA for permission to have apartment units on the first floor, as current regulations stipulate retail must occupy the ground floor of building in the community business district and apartments on upper floors.
The parcel is 0.07 acres, and Kelleher will be asking the ZBA for the two variances during a 7 p.m. hearing Tuesday night at the Public Works Facility Meeting Room. A remote option using Microsoft Teams is also available and can be found at enfield.nh.us.
“I was able to come with a design to get four units on the first floor, four units on the second floor and enough parking for eight spaces,” said Kelleher, who also owns the nearby Copeland Block, where restaurant Kitchen 56 is located.
The four one-bedroom apartments on the first floor will be approximately 650 square feet and the four on the second floor will be approximately 750 square feet he said.
While Kelleher said it is too early in the process to predict what the rents will be, he said, “People have been throwing out $3, $4 a square foot.”
The units will be priced at market rate.
When Kelleher bought an older building on the land in 2016, the state of New Hampshire owned the land underneath it, which had previously been owned by the railroad. He finalized the purchase of the land last September.
“The state was very slow,” Kelleher said. If the ZBA approves the variances, “I’m hoping to be before the planning board for approval in two months. Then hopefully start construction in the fall.”
The location makes sense for an apartment building, Taylor said. Tenants would be in walking distance of George’s and the town library at Whitney Hall. Across Route 4, they can walk to Jake’s Market and Deli.
There’s also an Advance Transit bus stop at Huse Park. The building will be next to the rail trail and a short walk from Lakeside Park.
When talking about the proposal, both Kelleher and Taylor referenced Keys to the Valley, a 2021 housing report that concluded the Upper Valley needs 10,000 new housing units by 2030 to meet increased demand for homes in the region.
“There’s not much big demand for retail in downtown Enfield,” Kelleher said. “There’s high demand for rental apartments.”
In his 25 years as a developer, Kelleher said he has never seen the housing market quite like this.
“It’s always been active as far as building, but with the pandemic and supply chain, it’s made things difficult because you can’t get building supplies readily and the cost of building supplies has gone up 300%,” he said.
Two years ago, Kelleher said, Enfield had 70 to 80 houses on the market at any given time, with two or three under contract.
“Now you’re lucky if there’s 10 houses on the market,” he said. “This is the first time I can recall when someone puts a house on the market and when it closes it closes for more than market price. This is the first time I’ve seen actual bidding wars on a property.”
Liz Sauchelli can be reached at esauchelli@vnews.com or 603-727-3221.
