People and Property: NH Real Estate and Construction News Rundown
Passive housing certifications awarded, office building sale in Nashua … and more
August sales of single-family homes in 13 sample Seacoast communities matched the year’s previous monthly high of 131 set in June, according to statistics from the Seacoast Board of Realtors.
The properties sold at a median price of $510,000, highest since May’s $525,000 and some 6.8 percent ahead of last year’s $477,500. Sales volume was off 13.8 percent from a year ago and 8.2 percent for the first eight months of the year. The cumulative median price for the first eight months is up 8.2 percent, to $475,000.
Meanwhile, the 61 reported condo sales were two more than last year and 10.9 percent ahead of July. The median sales price of $292,500 was the lowest since February and off 4 percent from last year.
Two Bensonwood employees, Jay Leppleand Hans Porschitz, recently completed a four-day training in passive housing building, each receiving a PHIUS (Passive House Institute U.S.) certified builders certificate. The passive house building training, held at the Yestermorrow School in Waitsfield, Vt., covered practical and business concerns specific to the craftsmanship of passive house building. Porschitz, who joined Bensonwood in 2000, is chief operating officer and oversees the company’s research and development; Lepple leads operations of the building systems manufacturing facility in Keene that produces wall, floor and roof enclosures for Bensonwood and Unity Homes.
Mascoma Meadows, a 50-unit resident-owned manufactured-home cooperative in the Upper Valley, has contracted with Brentwood-based ReVision Energy to install a 132.48-kilowatt solar array, which is forecast to save each of the co-op’s participating low- and moderate-income households nearly $270 annually. The ground-mounted array will consist of 384 solar panels and is scheduled to be completed by the end of the year. The project is expected to generate 176,507 kilowatt hours of electricity annually.
The array will be built on a half-acre of land donated to the co-op by the neighboring Abundant Life Church of God. The project’s cost is covered in part by a $168,000 grant from the Renewable Energy Fund managed by the NH Public Utilities Commission.
The sale of 14 Spring St. in Nashua to 14 Spring Street LLC has been announced by Lisa Ferrariand Mark Prolmanof Prolman Realty, who represented the seller, Marla S. Berry and assisted the buyer. The 1,466-square-foot office building will be occupied by Heaven Sent Home Care for use as corporate offices.
The American Independence Museum in Exeter will host another architectural tour for the 2018 season, this one beginning at 10:30 a.m., Tuesday, Sept. 25. The tour provides visitors with glimpses into spaces at both the Ladd-Gilman House (c. 1721) and Folsom Tavern (c. 1775) that generally remain inaccessible to the public. Tickets for the Architectural Tour are $10 for non-members and $5 for members. For more information, visit independencemuseum.org.
The city of Concord has awarded the contract to build a new skate house at White Park to Milestone Engineering & Construction, Concord. The H.L. Turner Group Inc., a Concord-based architectural and engineering firm, donated full design services for the project.
Construction began Sept. 10. The project will include demolition of the existing building, construction of the new four-season facility with an outdoor patio, and the addition of a new walkway to the main parking lot. The budget for the project is $1.15 million, of which $575,000 will be raised through private donations. The project is scheduled to be completed in March 2019.
JSA Inc., Portsmouth, has announced that Sara Curtishas joined the firm as marketing coordinator.
RMS Residential Mortgage Services has signed on as exclusive event sponsor for KW Charity’s Oct. 23 annual auction. In addition, Monarch Title Services and Cohen Title and Closing are partner sponsors. KW Charity focuses on supporting youth-serving organizations in southern New Hampshire.
Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Verani Realty’s annual food drive in support of national Hunger Action Month ends on Sept. 15. All of the firm’s offices and real estate agents are accepting nonperishable food items that will benefit local food banks around the state as well as the efforts of the national Feeding America Program.
Last year Verani agents and employees united efforts over the course of the month and collected over 2,500 pounds of food. Some $12,000 in donations were presented to the NH Food Bank and the Merrimack Valley Food Bank. The goal this year is to raise 3,000 pounds of food and $15,000 worth of donations.
