CLAREMONT — The Claremont Development Authority has signed an agreement to potentially sell 31 acres in the Syd Clarke Industrial Park off Grissom Lane to a developer who proposes to build and operate a greenhouse and small, solar-powered data center.
The pending sale of five abutting lots at the south end of the park, which borders Charlestown, could take up to a year before it is finalized.
“I don’t want to oversell it,” CDA Chairman Andy Lafreniere said by phone. “But it is a great idea. We think it meets the criteria the CDA looks for in terms of interesting projects and a willing developer but there is work to be done.”
The greenhouse, on 20 acres equaling 860,000 square feet, is slated to be 14 feet high with solar panels on the roof that will power LED lighting, Andrew Kellar, CEO and partner of NH Solar Gardens in Portsmouth, N.H., said in a phone interview. Natural light penetrating clear portions of the roof will help the growing process.
“We will be growing vegetables for distribution to the regional food system,” Kellar said, adding that they will not be growing cannabis.
NH Solar Gardens has done several projects in New England and is currently helping to build a solar array on Grissom Lane in Claremont, near the former Wheelabrator incinerator. He created a new company, AC Development, for the solar greenhouse, which will be his first of the kind, he said.
It will be “traditional soil farm” and will not require “pouring large concrete slabs,” Kellar said.
“We are trying to mimic the ideal New England summer with the sun going down around 7 or 8 at night,” Kellar said. “That is the environment we’re trying to mimic with the LED lighting.”
The solar panels will power the lights and electrical needs of the facility, as well as a small data center that will provide computerized automation of the greenhouse and an opportunity to meet local data needs from businesses or the public sector. Data centers run an organization’s Information Technology operations with a secure location to store, manage, and distribute data and applications.
Both parties emphasized that there is a lot of work to be done before the sale is finalized and the greenhouse constructed.
The company will have to survey the property, obtain permits and coordinate with Eversource and state regulators before deciding whether to move forward with buying the lots, Kellar said.
“The goal in the short term is to (…) to uncover any issues or challenges that will affect the project,” Kellar said.
The agreement includes three deposit periods beginning with a $5,000 payment that becomes nonrefundable after 90 days, Lafreniere said. Additional nonrefundable deposits of $10,000 are due at or before 90 days and 180 days.
In total, Kellar will have 450 days before he must close on the property and pay the balance of the $597,000 sales price, Lafreniere said.
“We agreed to a fairly lengthy deposit period to make sure they were getting what they needed for testing and permits done,” Lafreniere said. “Those things can take some time.”
The agreement also has a “repurchase” clause in case the developer is unable to complete the project and the CDA decides it wants to take the property back so it becomes available rather than sit unused, Lafreniere said. The sale price is about 85% of the combined assessed value of the five lots, but the CDA was comfortable with the lower price as the properties have been vacant for 30 years, Lafreniere said.
The park, which is partially bordered by River Road to the west and has one tract on the eastern side of the New England Central railroad tracks, is home to North Country Smokehouse, Crown Point Cabinetry and Jewell Trucking. Of the 13 lots in the park, six remain for sale.
Former City Manager Yoshi Manale first put Lafreniere in touch with Kellar, Lafreniere said.
“We had a great initial conversation (in April),” Lafreniere said. “The CDA is looking for engaging projects we can use for underutilized land or redevelopment projects. This just checked a lot of the boxes so we decided to run with it.”