The Portsmouth City Council passed a substantially revised motion in January that had initially sought a report from city staff to study “how to remove new construction from the Historic District’s Commission’s purview.”
City Councilor Rich Blalock, who served four years as the council’s representative on the HDC, said he was motivated to make the initial motion to address the lack of affordable housing in Portsmouth. He contended the HDC’s often monthslong reviews of new construction projects drives up the cost of development.
“It seems like right now when we put new construction through the Historic District Commission, all we’re (getting) is luxury condos because we’re adding cost,” Blalock said during the Jan. 20 City Council meeting.
Blalock further explained he wanted to learn more “about the impacts and costs of even keeping new construction in (the HDC’s) purview, and the benefits of removing it.”
Blalock mentioned major projects that went through HDC review, including the three-building development under construction at the former Sheraton Harborside parking lot site. Two International Group and Ocean Properties are constructing the new buildings with a total of 80 residential units and a mix of commercial and retail spaces.
“And I, during the process, realized we were designing it,” he said about the project. “That didn’t feel right to me.”
Blalock said he met with local builders who told him “new construction should not be under the HDC’s purview.”
“For one it adds six to nine months to the design process … and has a lot of unknowns,” he said. “They have no idea how the commission will act; they have no idea what requests will be made.”
Blalock maintained that, in order to cover the cost of going through the review process with the HDC, they “have to build luxury condos, because that’s the only way they can cover their costs.”
Blalock stressed he was only suggesting HDC’s review of projects should be changed for new construction.
“I believe demolition, renovation or additions involving a historic building, I think that should remain under the Historic District’s Commission’s purview,” said Blalock. “I think our historic buildings are one of the strongest assets we have, besides our people. I don’t want to touch that.”
Blalock also spoke out against designing new buildings to look like what he called “fake history.”
“My intention with this all is really to improve the affordability,” Blalock said. “When I have a community member who builds housing and he tells me our process prevented him from building rental units, and he had to build luxury condos to get through our process … I think we need to start this conversation.”
The council voted unanimously to pass a revised motion made by City Councilor Kate Cook after several officials raised concerns about Blalock’s initial motion.
The motion that passed called for a report back from city staff — and input from the HDC and Planning Board — “on the costs and impacts associated with review of new construction by the Historic District Commission, and any recommendation to improve review efficiency.”
Mayor Deaglan McEachern said, under the revised motion, the HDC would continue to review all projects in the historic district, while the council would receive cost estimates and recommendations.”
Cook pointed out there are very few lots left in the historic district that don’t already have buildings on them.
“We’re talking about lots that are on State Street, the majority … and a lot on Middle Street,” she said.
“I think we have to be really careful about asking to make a major change unless we know what the impact would be,” Cook said.
Assistant Mayor Joanna Kelley raised the question of whether there were any guarantees if cost savings gained by removing the HDC from new construction review would be “passed down to the consumer. I think that is one of the struggles I’ve had in all of these processes.”
City Councilor John Tabor said if “we’re looking at ways to make it easier for housing to get built, that’s great, but the historic district is the core of the city.”
He cautioned if the HDC was removed from reviewing new construction there would be “changes to the downtown we’re not going to like.”
HDC Chair Reagan Ruedig said she agreed “with a lot of what Councilor Blalock has proposed. We all would love to streamline the process,” she said during the Jan. 20 council meeting.
She said the HDC is waiting to hear back on the results of a state grant application aimed at paying for staff training.
The training is offered by the National Alliance of Preservation Commissions, including one on how to review new construction, she said.
“It is one of our most challenging applications. We don’t want fake old buildings, most of us,” Ruedig said. “I want to see buildings that represent our time period.”
This article is being shared by partners in the Granite State News Collaborative. For more information, visit collaborativenh.org.
Casino Salem will close its doors in the early hours of March 9, as Churchill Downs Inc. prepares for a major redevelopment to transform the small gaming venue into the much larger Rockingham Grand Casino.
Developers and city officials have long eyed the northern part of Lebanon, along Route 120, as a hot spot for new housing and businesses, and the result has already been evident with large apartment complexes cropping up there in recent years.
City Councilor Rich Blalock, who served four years as the council’s representative on the HDC, said he was motivated to make the initial motion to address the lack of affordable housing in Portsmouth. He contended the HDC’s often monthslong reviews of new construction projects drives up the cost of development.
Residents debated a proposed $2.66 million wastewater project during a town deliberative session at Pittsfield MidCadle High School, with discussion focusing on costs, long-term planning and who should pay.
The federal Department of Homeland Security, which houses Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), was in communication with at least one state agency in January about its plans to purchase and modify a vacant warehouse in Merrimack, according to documents obtained by the ACLU of New Hampshire through a public records request and released Tuesday, February 3.
Analysts fear that once it’s gone for the remainder of the fiscal year, overall revenue will lag unless other accounts, which have been underperforming to date, pick up the pace
The conversion of office space to residential units drove the commercial market last year
In 2025, more than 5,800 housing units were constructed in New Hampshire, the highest number since 2006, according to a new report from the state Department of Business and Economic Affairs. But despite this recent high, the report said the state has met only about 80% of its building goal between 2020 and 2025, which aims to balance the housing market by 2040.
As housing costs continue to climb, homeownership has become out of reach for many New Hampshire families. In 2025, the median price of a single-family house in the Granite State reached a record high of $535,000 after an alarming 122% increase over the past decade.
