Office and Housing Complex Nears Completion

One of the city’s major construction projects is finally coming to a close, with finishing touches on the two-part commercial and housing building set for the fall. 

Foxfire Property Management is near completion of a three-year project located on Main Street across from the Capitol Center for the Arts, providing office space for 300 workers, along with housing for more than 45 occupants.   

“It’s a great design,” said Steven Duprey, president of Foxfire Property Management. “It honors the downtown and speaks to its tradition, but also has an artsy feel to it.” 

The 92,000-square-foot, three-level commercial office portion of the project, entitled the Smile Building, is set to open its doors on Aug. 1.

The building will provide workspace for more than 250 employees of Concord Hospital, with offices on the second and third floor. The rest of the second floor is reserved for private businesses, while the first floor will occupy space for both the League of New Hampshire Craftsmen and the Concord Chamber of Commerce.

The back portion of the building, which was named after M.T. Menino, the late executive director for the Capitol Center for the Arts, will feature 45 apartments and is set to open sometime in November. Half of the apartments have already been reserved for local artists, but the rest will be available for rent to low- and moderate-income individuals.

“It will be a tremendous shot in the arm for downtown,” Duprey said. “It should generate more business downtown with more people in the area.”