Planning Board hears ‘micro-unit’ request for historic Elm Street building
Homes come in all shapes and sizes and some very tiny homes might be coming downtown soon.

MANCHESTER, NH – Homes come in all shapes and sizes and some very tiny homes might be coming downtown soon.
On Thursday night, the Manchester Planning Board heard a change of use site plan application that would transform the upper floors of 940 Elm St., 5 Stark St. and 9 Stark St. into nine “residential micro-units.” All three buildings are connected on the upper levels even though they are separate properties.
Rent prices were not mentioned during the hearing, but the units would range in size from 326 sq. ft to 372 sq. ft., with three units on each floor. The proposal included reconfiguring three current staircases into two, and asbestos and lead abatement. A mansard or gambrel-style roof will also be constructed on 9 Stark St. to allow more room for the fourth-floor apartments there.
That roof will need to be built out of slate per the request of the Manchester Heritage Commission, which gave its blessing to the proposal in November. The two buildings on Stark Street are believed to have been built in 1850 while 940 Elm St. was built sometime in the late 19th century. A renewed brick façade for the Stark Street buildings is also expected as part of the Heritage Commission approval.
The proposal also received approval in July from the zoning board for a variance from minimum square footage requirements for residential units in the central business district.
Currently, these buildings are best known as the locations of Ben and Jerry’s Ice Cream and Maxwell’s Barber Shop. Derek Archambeault, owner of Maxwell’s, expressed concern over the potential loss of customers during the lead and asbestos abatement work occurring above his business. Tucker McCarthy, representing the proposal applicant, 5th Floor Pirouette LLC, said that his clients would do whatever possible to work with businesses in the area to avoid disruptions.
Maxwell noted that if approved for the application, renovation would likely begin in March or April and implied that the character of the building would be preserved given its iconic identity as part of the city’s downtown area.
“It’s a cool building, it’s a very landmark building, everybody knows where Ben and Jerry’s is on Elm Street,” he said.
There were also some concerns from the Planning Board regarding the amount of trash bins that would be needed, with those bins for all nine units being located behind 9 Stark St. on Hampshire Lane. According to Department of Public Works estimates, it was believed that a building of the size of the three properties would require three to four garbage toter bins with several pickups a week if it were nothing but residential properties. However, it was unclear if the fact that the buildings will remain mixed-use would impact that equation. It was also implied that there would be no room for a dumpster near the properties.
The Planning Board did not take action on the request on Thursday night, with a determination expected at their limited business session later this month.
