People and Property: Real Estate and Construction News From Around NH

Music Hall of Portsmouth Communications Director Monte Bohanahan and Executive Director Tina Sawtelle are shown in the newly opened Music Hall Lounge, a result of renovation of the theater space formerly known as The Loft. The Lounge was designed with a ‘nightclub vibe’ with flexible seating options, a full bar, small bites and an open concept. The Music Hall worked with Studio KL and Market Street Architects on the project. Artwork by local artists Amy Ford and Eric MacDonald is hung throughout the space. (Photo by Barbara MacLeod)

Ground is expected to be broken on The Residences and Shops at Kelly Brook, a new 64-unit housing project in Dover, at the site of the former McCrone Family Christmas Tree Farm at 239 Knox Marsh Rd. Equine Properties LLC plans to build 12-single family residences and two three-story mixed-use buildings, each with a first-floor commercial space and 26 residential units above. The 52 apartment units will be rented at market rate, and the developer intends to sell the 12 single-family homes.

The Old Navy clothing chain plans to open a Keene location early next year in the Monadnock Marketplace, a shopping center along Route 9. The San Francisco-based clothing and accessories retailer is owned by Gap Inc. The closest Old Navy locations to Keene are in Merrimack and in Leominster, Mass., with both stores roughly 40 miles from the Elm City.

A complex of four vacant industrial buildings on 4.4 acres at 209 Hobbs St. in Conway Village has been purchased by Tom Henriksen, president of Ceramco Inc., for $910,000. Henriksen told the Conway Daily Sun he expects to move most, if not all, of his company’s manufacturing operations from his current 10,350-square-foot plant located at 1467 East Main St. in Center Conway.

General contractor Kingsbury Companies of Middlesex, Vt., has been awarded two projects in northern New Hampshire. One at the Bretton Woods Wastewater Treatment Facility, consists of the removal, dewatering and disposal of sewage sludge from two existing aerated lagoons, the installation of two new 60-mil HDPE liners and the replacement of the aeration system. The facility treats wastewater from several residential and commercial members in the White Mountain Range including Bretton Woods Ski Area. Work is expected to be completed in the fall. The company also has begun work on a water system intake Replacement project in Canaan. It involves replacement of the existing intake on the Canaan Street Lake. The water system is the largest drinking water source in the town and supplies water to approximately 600 residents and local businesses. Work is expected to take place in the summer of 2022.

Grant and loans for several water and wastewater improvement projects were recently approved by the Executive Council. Funding was provided through the American Rescue Plan Act and the state’s Drinking Water State Revolving Fund. Projects award funding were:

• Dover water facility improvements, $5.2 million
• Londonderry water system financial planning, $50,000 ARPA grant
• Process Energy Services, contract for wastewater and drinking water energy audits, $500,000 ARPA grant
• Wolfeboro drinking water infrastructure, $735,000 ARPA grant and $735,000 DWSRF loan.

John Brie of Dover has joined JSA Design, Portsmouth as a project architect. Brie has worked in commercial and residential architecture, most recently as an architect and project manager for Walker Architects in Gainesville, Fla.

The Custom House, a 162-year-old three-story commercial building at the entryway to the downtown Portsmouth, been sold for $4.9 million to a Manchester real estate investment firm. The Custom House is home to numerous businesses, including the Book & Bar, 5 Thai Bistro, Great Island Realty and Kimberly Sarah Photography, a dog portraiture company. Ben Kelley, principal of Kelley Family Properties, the new owner, told the Portsmouth Herald he plans to “sensitively” renovate the building’s interior while keeping each active tenant onboard.