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

Construction and utility crews continue their work on the gas and water mains at the Island Street Bridge, Tuesday afternoon in Keene. (Photo by Hannah Schroeder, Keene Sentinel)

After repeated delays, Island Street bridge construction to wrap up

After repeated delays, Keene now expects to wrap construction on Island Street bridge by the end of May, according to Brett Rusnock, the Winchester Street reconstruction project manager.

The bridge was previously slated for reopening in March, but Rusnock told a reporter that a combination of additional work and unforeseen complications caused the project’s completion to be pushed back.

“The [construction] schedule we received from our contractor was the basis for what we published, expecting the bridge to be completed in March,” Rusnock said Tuesday. “After looking at it in more detail, we noticed things missing in the schedule, particularly work needed to insulate the bottom of the concrete bridge deck.”

Rusnock said this work to install insulation, completed in January, typically doesn’t happen during cold weather, but a relatively mild winter allowed crews to continue construction. In addition, Rusnock said workers needed to build a platform in between girders of the bridge to run heating ducts, which took more time.

Rusnock said the insulation is critical for pouring a concrete bridge deck and protects it from cold temperatures as the concrete sets.

“The biggest concern with concrete placement is that the water is an integral part of the concrete mix,” he said. “Water is required to activate a chemical reaction that binds the sand and aggregate together. If the water freezes before that reaction has time to take place, it doesn’t develop the strength it needs to be durable and long lasting.”

Workers also recently finished replacing an undersized stormwater outlet into the Ashuelot River and extending the limits of water and sewer replacements, Rusnock added. This work took longer than anticipated due to high river elevations caused by spring snow melt, as well as frozen ground conditions.

Much of what remains for the project includes utility work and final paving. Rusnock said that Liberty Utilities is connecting a gas main to either side of the bridge, which will be followed by the city’s contractor installing a new water main to connect to existing infrastructure.

Once completed, the Island Street bridge project will mark the conclusion of nearly two years of construction on upper Winchester Street, which began with building a roundabout at the Winchester Street/Key Road intersection in July 2022. That roundabout, along with another at the Island Street and Pearl Street intersection, finished last year.

The entire Winchester Street project carries a cost of about $9.9 million, Rusnock said. Of that total, the city is responsible for approximately $2 million while the rest is funded at the state and federal level.

“We’d like to thank the community for their patience on this project,” Rusnock said. “We know it’s taken a lot longer than we planned and we appreciate the community’s patience and support as we wrap up this critical project.” — Hunter Oberst, Keene Sentinel

Matt and Beth Wood, co-owners of 21 Bar and Grill in Keene, said they plan to expand the restaurant into the
newly vacant Country Life Vegetarian space next door. (Courtesy of Emily Jellie)

21 Bar and Grill in Keene plans expansion into adjacent space

21 Bar and Grill in Keene plans to expand into the newly vacant space next door, tentatively in June.

Matt and Beth Wood, co-owners of the restaurant, said they signed a lease for the former location of Country Life Vegetarian restaurant at 15 Roxbury St. Monday. That restaurant closed March 21 after 37 years in business.

“I worked at 21 for about 13 or 14 years before we bought it … and we’ve always known that the end goal was to have 21, and we always knew that we wanted to eventually expand it,” Beth said. “So, when we actually … bought the business from the previous business owners, we had talked to the landlord and said that if 15 [Roxbury] ever became available that we wanted it.”

The plan involves opening up the wall between the two spaces in certain spots, Beth added.

“We’re working with the city and the fire department because we just want to make sure that we’re doing everything safe, the right way because it is a load-bearing wall,” she said. “So we just kind of have to go at the speed of permitting and making sure that we do everything the right way.”

She added that they hope to open the expansion at some point in June and have it running smoothly before Keene Wizarding Week in July, depending on the length of the permitting process.

Matt said that planning for uses of the space is still early, but they hope to expand it as a restaurant area.

“Our initial, you know, plan is to kind of keep our current 21 location as more of a bar/lounge type of feel,” he said. “And then keep the expansion space as more of a restaurant type of feel.”

Both said the growth of the restaurant area fits into their already developed move toward a family-oriented, full-service restaurant.

“We already are family-oriented … and it’s like all ages are allowed,” Beth said. “We want families to come and dine here, and we have quite a few that do.”

Besides the expansion, the restaurant also launched a new menu Tuesday. The two explained that they change the menu twice a year to shift between warm-weather and cold-weather dishes. The new menu includes a fajita bowl, a Cobb salad and a bacon jam burger.

“We like to keep the fan favorites, but we do change quite a bit of things to kind of keep in line with … how your tastes change,” Matt added. — Christopher Cartwright, Keene Sentinel

Committee on Infrastructure authorizes sale of surplus property, stop signs and ‘No Parking’ zones

Nashua’s Committee on Infrastructure authorized the sale of surplus property at “L” Pine Street and 3 Pine Street Extension at their meeting on March 27. Additionally, they authorized the Mayor to enter into a Purchase and Sale Agreement for the “Nimco Site” at 1 Pine Street Extension, 3 Pine Street Extension, and “L” Pine Street. 

The committee also authorized a stop sign at Danbury Road at its interaction with Watson Street to be located on the northwest corner. This was recommended by Senior Traffic Engineer Wayne Husband who had asked Aldermen Dowd – a committee member – to sponsor the legislation, noting that a stop sign would reinforce appropriately yielding and should reduce uncertainty. 

A school safety zone and two school zone flashing speed limit signs on Buckmeadow Road were authorized by the committee. 

During public comment, Gloria McCarthy of the Conservation Commission wanted to be sure that the signs would only be flashing during or around school hours. She said that there is conservation land in this area and animals would be disturbed if the lights were flashing at night. 

Alderman Dowd said he would find answers to this question and is currently still waiting for a definite answer. 

The committee also authorized legislation that prohibits parking on the north side of a section of Arlington Avenue, on the east side of a section of Tolles Street, on the south side of a section of Lock Street, and on the north side of a section of Lake Street. 

Alderman Klee – who is on the committee – recommended a definite postponement of a petition for the discontinuance of Mar Lane, a “paper street.” All were in favor. 

During public comment, attorney Israel Piedra – representing Juan Ocasio, owner and resident and 15 Quinton Drive – spoke to the petition for Street Discontinuance discussed at the previous committee meeting on Feb. 28, recommending that the committee take a “belt and suspenders approach and remove any doubt by recommending passage of the discontinuance petition.”

At the previous meeting, Piedra explained that Mar Lane connects Quinton and Curtis Drive and is contiguous to Ocasio’s yard.

Ocasio said that the previous owner of the property informed him that he had the option to purchase Mar Lane, which is what led him to eventually create the petition. He hopes for Mar Lane to be discontinued for the sake of his family’s privacy and safety, as strangers currently walk through his yard.

Alderman Klee said, “The reason I’m recommending definite postponement is based on council and their recommendation that there is no need for this, that it has already been discontinued.”

“I know that during public comment it was mentioned that there’d be no harm no foul. I believe that council has indicated kind of the opposite of that, that the best thing to do would be to indefinitely postpone it, make no action on it because action has already happened based on the law of the land at the time,” Klee added.

Community Development Director Matt Sullivan said, “My caution to the committee this evening … is simply that ‘belt and suspenders’ is appropriate, but in this case the suspenders being applied are, in fact, not something that will have any import in this case. It will be ineffective at providing additional legal protection simply because the committee should always take caution in taking actions on things that it has no authority to take action on.”

He encouraged the public to explore their own rights through civil process and securing legal counsel if they believe they have rights to use Mar Lane, but that would have no bearing on the motion. — Mya Blanchard, Nashua Ink Link

Mason Planning Board prepares 2025 detached ADU amendment

The Mason Planning Board is preparing to bring a zoning ordinance amendment that will permit residents to have a detached accessory dwelling unit (ADU) on their property to next year’s Town Meeting.

Accessory dwelling units are apartments built on the same lot as an existing primary residence. They can be attached to the main home, or detached from it, with size based on a specific square footage or a percentage of the existing home. Currently, Mason’s zoning ordinance allows attached ADUs, and at Wednesday night’s Planning Board meeting, members held a preliminary discussion on how to best move forward with an amendment. 

Cassie Cashin, a regional planner with the Nashua Regional Planning Commission, suggested that they look to towns like Lyndeborough, where residents recently voted in favor of permitting detached ADUs, for guidance on how to structure the amendment. She will also be compiling a list of other towns that allow detached ADUs for further insight to determine which method would work best for Mason.

Selectman Charlie Moser noted that while many towns require that a property owner apply for a license to have a detached ADU, that might not be the best method for Mason since the town lacks the necessary infrastructure.

“We don’t have the staff – an administrative structure just doesn’t make sense,” he said. 

Instead, the town could consider allowing detached ADUs either by right, variance or special exception. Cashin noted that towns which allow detached ADUs by right usually require that the property owner to apply for a building permit. In that case, a building inspector would inspect the ADU in the same way as a main residential building. 

Since the town already has a building permit and inspection system in place, Moser expressed interest in potentially going that route.

“A lot of towns do that, and it works fine,” Cashin said. “It eliminates a lot of paperwork and procedure.”

The board also discussed holding at least two public hearings for Mason residents to voice their input on the proposed amendment.

Vice Chair Dane Rota suggested the board look to the language in the ordinance allowing attached ADUs to use in the proposed amendment. He told the other board members they should review the current ordinance and prepare for a more-detailed discussion of the issue during next month’s meeting. — Cameron Cashman, Monadnock Ledger-Transcript