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

Pheasant Lane Mall casino proposed

Representatives of EC NH Real Estate Holdings Representatives, the firm that purchased the former Sears store at Pheasant Lane Mall, are scheduled to go before the Nashua Planning Board at Thursday evening’s meeting with a request for a conditional use permit.

The Union Leader reported that the firm is seeking the permit to open a casino gaming facility in the former Sears, a roughly 6.8-acre parcel that served as the mall’s southern anchor store until its closure several years ago.

New Peabody place fully opens

After three years of work, the transformation of Peabody Place in Franklin, which has an 80-year history of providing care for seniors in a

Peabody Place

residential setting, has been fully realized. The second phase opened its doors to members of the community at a celebratory reception on June 29 and is now fully open for those seeking independent living, assisted living and memory care.

The new 63,632-square-foot Peabody Place is more than double its original capacity and includes 45 assisted living apartments, 13 memory care apartments and 16 independent living apartments. Funding totaling $26 million was approved through the United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Rural Development’s Community Facilities Direct Loan & Grant Program in November 2020.

The building was designed by EGA Architects of Newburyport, Mass.; construction and engineering services were provided by Engelberth Construction and Nobis Engineering both of Concord. Advisory work was provided by New Hampshire-based Roxie Severance and Jon Freeman as consultants and Marc Jobin, construction consultant. The project was supported by the city of Franklin along with the State of New Hampshire’s Health and Human Services, Environmental Services and Health and Education Facilities Bond Authority.

LRCD gets transitional housing grant

Lakes Region Community Developers was recently awarded a $30,000 grant from the Linden Foundation to support LRCD’s transitional housing and eviction prevention programs, both of which seek to address the crisis of homelessness in the Lakes Region.

Eviction prevention efforts at LRCD include supporting tenants in any of LRCD’s affordable housing properties with applications for financial assistance, help facilitating a payment arrangement with property management, help remedying a lease violation, help completing income verification paperwork to obtain/maintain a rental subsidy, financial counseling, and crisis intervention.

Taking part in the Faith’s Toyota Ford groundbreaking were, from left: Jim Adams, Jewett Construction superintendent; Dan Ray, Jewett’s vice president of preconstruction and design; Tim Urie, project manager; Benjamin Mba, Faith Mba, and Kirsten Mba of Faith’s Toyota Ford; Nick Jewett, estimator; Pete Marson, assistant project manager; and Alain LeBlanc, vice president of operations for Jewett.

Jewett to build Vt. car dealership expansion

A July 6 groundbreaking ceremony in Westminster, Vt., marked the start of construction of Faith’s Toyota Ford new 37,000-square-foot dual-branded dealership. Jewett Construction of Fremont, NH, is contractor on the project, which will incorporate LEED-certified features that highlight the latest advancements in sustainable design and technology.

Ruggles Mine up for auction

Ruggles Mine, the former mine-turned-tourist-attraction in Grafton, is headed to auction after its current owners stopped paying the mortgage and halted tax payments, the Valley News reported.

The mine was a working mica mine for decades and was eventually turned into a popular tourist attraction in the early 1960s before closing in 2016. The property includes about 235 acres spread over five mostly forested lots.

The public auction is scheduled to take place at 11 a.m. on Friday, July 21, at the mine, located on Ruggles Mine Road. The properties, which are in current use, are assessed at $274,700.

In 2019, Exciglow, a New York-based production company, paid an estimated $500,000 for the mine. Exciglow did not pay taxes from 2021 to 2023 and currently owes around $7,800 in back taxes, according to town records.

The winning bidder must provide a $25,000 deposit and then will have 45 days to complete the sale.

Red Oak office suites open at Manchester building

A newly completed 4,700-square-foot office suite space has opened at Red Oak Properties’ building at 409 Elm St. in downtown Manchester. The new Red Oak Office Suites offer multiple workspace options, plans and price points for professionals who work outside of a corporate environment, the company said.

Clients can choose from daily use plans, a dedicated desk plan, private-office suites for one or four people and team suites that can accommodate many workers.

TFMoran welcomes summer interns

TFMoran’s Bedford office has three new interns this summer: Brooke Stoncius, a student at Endicott College, is working in the stormwater engineering department; Jackie Gamache, who attends the University of Rhode Island, is working in the marketing department in the Bedford office; and Max Heck is working in the land surveying department. He attends the University of Maine.