Daniel Webster Council lists Holt Avenue property for $1.3 million
Daniel Webster Council has listed its former headquarters at 571 Holt Ave. for $1.3 million, a year and a half after the council’s board approved putting the building up for sale.
MANCHESTER, NH – Daniel Webster Council has listed its former headquarters at 571 Holt Ave. for $1.3 million, a year and a half after the council’s board approved putting the building up for sale.
The Holt Avenue property, as well as the council’s five-acre Unity Program Center in Sullivan County, are being sold to meet the council’s $3.5 million obligation to the national Boy Scouts of America, which has to cover a $2.46 billion settlement related to sexual abuse lawsuits. The council’s board of directors agreed to list both properties in December 2021.
The Unity property is listed for $625,000. Both property sales must be approved by the DWC board before they are final. The broker for both is Chris Norwood, NAI Norwood, in Bedford.
While the council’s board approved listing both properties in late 2021, the council had to wait until the national BAS settlement was agreed to and its Chapter 11 bankruptcy was resolved. The settlement agreement was finalized in March, and the bankruptcy was settled in April. Both DWC properties were listed at the end of May.
Boy Scout councils across the country must contribute $820 million as part of the $2.46 billion settlement, and are selling property to meet their obligation.
Most of the regional councils, including Daniel Webster, control their own finances and were not part of the bankruptcy restructuring. DWC oversees eight districts in New Hampshire, with about 5,100 boys and girls participating. According to its 2022 annual report, the council had $3,370,538 in income and $3,366,830 in expenses.
The 10,800-square-foot Holt Avenue building is on 2.16 acres near Lake Massabesic. It is in an industrial zone, though the surrounding neighborhood is mostly residential. It was built by the council in 1982, and was its headquarters until 2021.
“The property is currently built out as an office, but could have future use as industrial or day care by right,” the listing says. “A rare property for sale in this market.”
The property is assessed by the city at $748,500 for both land and building. There is no tax history because the DWC, as a nonprofit, doesn’t pay property taxes.
The Unity property, at 275 Mica Mine Road, has one 2,464-square-foot building, and is being sold as is. It’s on a dirt road and was used for rustic outdoor programs by the DWC. It’s adjacent to the Unity Mountain Trail Conservation Area and is being marketed as a single-family home or camp.
The decision to list both properties was a difficult one, Jay Garee, DWC Scout executive, said after the board made its decision in 2021.
The Holt Avenue building was the Daniel Webster Council’s headquarters for four decades. The council moved its headquarters to Camp Carpenter, on Bodwell Road, two years ago.
The 250-acre Camp Carpenter property and the 3,500-square-foot Griswold Scout Reservation in Gilmanton Iron Works are not for sale, Garee said.
He said New Hampshire Scouting “is alive and well, and safer than ever before with some of the strongest expert-informed youth protection policies found in any youth-serving organization.” Volunteers and employees take youth protection extremely seriously, he said, “and do their part to help keep kids safe.”
The BSA’s Chapter 11 bankruptcy case resulted in the largest sexual abuse settlement fund in U.S. history, Reuters reported. The settlement resolves claims by more than 80,000 men who, as children, were abused by Boy Scout troop leaders or other volunteers.
