The Pemaco building has storefronts at the street level, but the second and third floors are vacant. A proposal to renovate those top floors into apartments and office space through a tax incentive was approved by city council Monday night. (Photo by Gabriel Perry, The Laconia Daily Sun)
City councilors at their meeting Monday night approved a request for tax relief on behalf of the owners of the Pemaco building downtown.
Sonya Misiaszek, principal of Misiaszek Turpin Architects, and her husband Chad Monterose plan to renovate the second and third floors of the Pemaco building, which have sat unused for years.
The third floor will become the new home of Misiaszek Turpin Architects, presently located in 1 Mill Plaza near City Hall. They’re looking to expand their office and hire additional employees, but don’t have the space to do so.
The second floor of the Pemaco building, home to the long-vacant Gardens Theater, will host three new apartment units on the Main Street side of the building. The first phase of the project will see the completion of those apartments, perhaps by the end of the summer, and the renovation of the third floor office space.
Misiaszek and Monterose, who purchased the Pemaco building almost exactly two years ago, are longtime residents of Laconia and professionals working downtown. Monterose, himself a structural engineer, said Monday night he’d been working in Laconia since 1983, and he and Misiaszek have a vested interest in contributing to the revitalization of downtown.
“The second and third floor is unoccupied right now,” Monterose said. “There is no heat, there is no electricity, there are no utility services on the second and third floors right now.”
The application, submitted under the city’s adoption of a provision in RSA 79-E, effectively freezes their property tax rate at the current assessment beginning March 31, and which will remain valid for five years. Following the five-year period of relief, the property taxes on the parcel would increase to the real value in 2031.
The point of the program is to provide developers incentives to refurbish property for private and public benefit. As of this writing, the property at 622-634 Main St. is valued at $726,400. Misiaszek and Monterose purchased it for $1.1 million on March 23, 2023. It’s nearly 30,000 square feet on a 0.35-acre lot, and is home to several popular businesses which operate on the street level. Those businesses would not be impacted by construction in the building and would remain in operation.
Community members Patrick Wood and Warren Clement voiced support for the project; Warren said the building has long been underutilized, and the project is an appropriate fit for the tax relief program.
“This is a success story,” Wood said during a portion of the meeting reserved for public comment.
“I am strongly in favor of this particular building falling under that 79-E,” Clement said.
Councilors approved the request unanimously.
Misiaszek and Monterose intend to create an entrance directly to the upper floors on Main Street. The apartments will be roughly 480 to 600 square feet in size. Opening up the top floor for conversion to an architect’s office space will allow Misiaszek Turpin to grow, hiring additional employees to bring their roster up to 10, Misiaszek said.
“We have no ability to expand — we only have about 1,000 square feet in that space, so we can’t add any employees,” Misiaszek said. “We’ve been working our current staff pretty hard, so this would allow us to have 10 employees, including an office manager or a studio administrator. Currently, we’ve had four employees, plus the office administrator.”
They’ll also look to add lighting over a side alley in a similar style to those which hang over Canal Street installed by New Spectrum Lighting, albeit lower to the ground because they don’t have to accommodate vehicular traffic.
“It is a very heavy pedestrian way, especially in the evening,” Monterose said.
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