Developer plans six condos on Exeter’s Main St.

A well-known Seacoast developer is planning to demolish three 125-year-old buildings on Main Street and construct six condos in their place.

A representative of developers said they would incorporate features like “interesting porches and decks” in the six homes. (Provided by Chinburg Properties)

A well-known Seacoast developer is planning to demolish three 125-year-old buildings on Main Street and construct six condos in their place.

A representative of the developer, Chinburg Properties of Newmarket, recently appeared before the town Planning Board for a preliminary discussion of the project, which would see the single-family detached homes replace two brick carriage houses and a street-facing colonial-style building.

Alexx Monastiero, who specializes in land development for The Gove Group, which partners with Chinburg to bring residential projects through the local and state approvals process, cautioned that the plans were preliminary. The purpose of appearing before the Planning Board, she said, was to get feedback early before a formal application.

“It’s not required at all; it’s just something that we really like to do,” she said in a Nov. 10 interview. “It helps us to get a feel for where the town is at for this type of project and if we are going in the right direction.”

She added that Chinburg intends to reappear before the Planning Board in January with a formal application for the project at 65-67 1/2 Main St., once more detailed plans are created.

What do developers want to construct?

The six standalone buildings will each have three or four bedrooms and three bathrooms and be around 2,500 to 3,000 square feet, with a two-car garage on the ground level and two stories above it, according to preliminary plans.

Monastiero said that around half of the 0.84-acre lot would be kept open as green space.

Developers are envisioning a shared driveway coming in from Main Street on the left-hand side of the site, with the first two buildings facing the driveway and a four-unit cluster facing each other in the rear.

“We’re trying to incorporate some interesting porches and decks and even internal decks in the building where you can come out of your living room and be under the roofline but be on an outdoor deck,” Monastiero said.

Though it is in a zone that does not usually permit multiple structures on a single lot, Exeter’s interim town planner Carol Ogilvie told the Planning Board that, “since the lot previously accommodated multifamily dwellings, this use is grandfathered, which allows the development of up to seven units.”

Monastiero said developers had considered several configurations, including a single building or duplexes, but decided six standalone homes would be best.

The parcel, according to a town property assessment database, is valued at just over $1 million.

Typically, developers secure approval from local boards and state agencies before purchasing land.

However, Chinburg purchased the property first, and the company closed on the sale relatively quickly, Monastiero said.

“Normally when we’re purchasing land, we’d prefer to wait and get the approvals done first to get assurance, but they took the risk here and were willing to purchase it ahead of time,” she added.

The process, she said, was “pretty quick.” The property was listed on the open market at the end of July and received multiple offers, and Chinburg closed the $1.3 million sale on Sept. 11.

“Land is so hard to find right now; we are in a very land-scarce market,” Monastiero said. “There were multiple offers on the property, and so we knew we were going to have to put forward the best offer we could to get it under contract.”

Because multiple units already existed on the land, developers were more comfortable taking on the risk, she added.

Neighbors air concerns about proposed development

Several members of the public spoke at the hearing, bringing their concerns about the development to the board.

Exeter resident Sally Ward said she wondered about the historical significance of the buildings that will be demolished and of the broader state of affordability in town.

“We’ve seen other places in town where buildings of some historical significance have been torn down and condominiums have been put in their place, and that concerns me,” she said.

Affordable housing has been “slowly but systematically eliminated,” she added.

Monastiero said developers had considered preserving the brick carriage houses but decided that it was an impossibility given the state of their foundations. Building more homes, she added, would create a “downstream effect,” making other, more affordable, units in town available for purchase.

“That’s the best argument I’ve heard for selling a million-dollar house,” quipped Aaron Brown, the Planning Board’s vice chair.

“This town has done a darn good job, better than most of its immediate abutters, in terms of creating affordable housing and continuing to support it,” he added. “There’s quite a diversity of housing in the town of Exeter when it comes right down to it.”

Sally Oxnard, another Exeter resident, said she was “stunned at the amount of destruction I have observed in Exeter in the last year or so.”

“The pattern appears to be that a developer buys the land and applies to develop it, the neighbors protest about the destruction or the overbuilding or the trees coming down, the Planning Board agrees with the developer, all the trees come down and the wasteland appears, great amounts of space is taken up by buildings and pavement, two- or three-inch trees will be planted and many will die,” she said.

“And we end up with million-dollar condos, less workforce housing, and significant damage to the tree canopy, which is not good for the town,” she continued.

Monastiero said that Chinburg, when developing properties, takes into consideration treelines, planting and natural preservation.

“In all of the communities, we do our best to maintain the tree cover, especially along the property where we can,” she said.

Planning Board members call for classic New England design

The renderings were created by Winter Holben, a firm based in Kittery, Maine.

Monastiero said the architects spent time in Exeter for inspiration, including in preliminary plans features seen in landmarks around town, including the historic train station complex. Some Planning Board members, however, said more attention should be paid to constructing the building in a classical New England style.

“This feels really modern for that site,” said Gwen English. “To me, it doesn’t feel like it fits.”

Brown agreed, especially on the building facing Main Street, which most residents will see.

Monastiero said architects from Winter Holben will attend the developers’ presentation on their eventual proposal to expand on the design choices.

But the feedback from the board was relatively muted. Its chair, Langdon Plumer, said he appreciated the design’s variety, comparing it to other proposals the board has reviewed, which he said resembled a “New Jersey motel.”