Assisted Living Facility, Retail Coming to Penacook Tannery Site

After more than a decade of work and millions of dollars spent on cleanup, the city of Concord has selected Weston Solutions of Glastonbury, CT, to redevelop the tannery parcel in Penacook.

According to a statement from Matt Walsh, the city’s assistant to special projects, Weston intends to obtain part of the parcel and will construct an assisted living facility, featuring 45 apartments and a 3,000 square foot retail/restaurant space at the site. Both the city and Weston, which has a regional office in Concord, will also “explore renovating” a former warehouse on the site for a possible new branch library for the village.

About 11 full-time as well as numerous part-time employment positions are expected to be created when the project is completed.

Walsh noted that a historic brick building on the site would be preserved as well. The city has also already agreed to construct a park along the Contoocook River on part of the site.

After construction, the building is expected to be valued at about $4.5 million and will bring in $124,000 in property taxes each year, according to Walsh.

No grocery store

Walsh confirmed that the announcement of an assisted living facility and retail/restaurant space on the parcel meant that there would be no grocery store constructed on the tannery site. The site was believed to be the last large parcel in the area that was available for a possible grocery store in the village center. City officials, however, did try to get a grocery store on the site, according to Walsh. 

“It’s important to note that the city sent copies of the city’s RFP to grocery store developers and operators,” he said, “but (they had) no interest in the site.”

A full-service grocery store, specifically one that was within walking distance for most village residents, was something that was desired for the site by many village residents, to the point that some were involved in an effort to hijack the release of development covenants to the Exit 17 parcel where David and Laurie Rauseo, the owners of Interchange Development, proposed building a grocery store.

Members of the community were split on the Rauseo's proposal with many residents wanting to hold out for a store at the tannery site and others believing it would not happen and felt it was better to back a store at the Rauseo’s site. In the end, the Rauseo’s withdrew their request and recently received Planning Board approval for a Dunkin’ Donuts and full-service gas station on the site.

Laurie Rauseo did not return an email asking whether or not the failure to secure a grocery store for the tannery site would alter plans for their site.

Walsh said in past conversations with those people who run and develop grocery stores, the tannery site was probably never going to have a grocery store because it was “too small” and “traffic count was too low to get them interested.”

The timeline

Officials say that it will be close to two years before construction starts on the project.

During the next six months or so, the city and Weston will enter a negotiating period to formalize a purchase and sale agreement. That agreement will be presented to the council sometime during the summer next year. Permitting and financing are expected to be lined up late in 2013 with construction to begin sometime in 2014, according to the press release.