Proposed downtown recovery facility receives positive public hearing at Planning Board
The Manchester Planning Board appeared to have a positive response to a proposed 55-bed substance abuse recovery facility seeking to replace a now vacated New England College dormitory at 88 Lowell St.
MANCHESTER, N.H. – The Manchester Planning Board appeared to have a positive response to a proposed 55-bed substance abuse recovery facility seeking to replace a now vacated New England College dormitory at 88 Lowell St.
The Planning Board simultaneously heard a conditional use permit application and a change of use site plan application for the property, which New England College seeks to transfer into the hands of Live Free Recovery Services, an organization that runs other substance abuse recovery centers elsewhere in the city.
Ten of the beds would be classified as Level 3.7 on American Society for Addiction Medicine (ASAM) scale, which is described as “medically managed high-intensity inpatient treatment” while the other beds would be classified as Level 3.5 care, or “clinically managed residential services” with patient stays lasting approximately 30 to 45 days.
The conditional use permit request was intended to seek an alternative solution for minimum parking space requirements through the use of designated parking spaces at the adjacent Hartnett Parking Lot. Matt Peterson of Keach Nordstrom and Associates told the board that the need for parking spaces would likely be much lower in the building’s new use given that only staff members would be permitted to park in those spaces, with patients not allowed to have vehicles while in treatment.
In the change of use site plan request, several waivers from site plan regulations were also requested given testimony that the outside of the building would not see significant changes.
Only one member of the public spoke during the public hearing, and that was Father Ed Cardoza of the Grace Episcopal Church next door on Lowell Street.
Cardoza praised the reputation of Live Free Recovery Services and said that he was in support of the proposal if appropriate security can be provided.
“It’s very needed, and this is a very well-run organization,” he said. “An empty building is a dangerous building, and seeing it used and used well in a place that makes sense (for this use) with a plan that’s thought out is really critical.”
Live Free Recovery Services also received a positive reaction from members of the board who had dealt with them in the past, such as former Manchester Fire Department Chief and Planning Board Aldermanic Liaison Dan Goonan.
Live Free Recovery Services CEO Ryan Gagne was pleased with the hearing and believes that a new facility at 88 Lowell St. will be a benefit to the community and also the immediate neighborhood, something he hopes to show to others skeptical of having his facilities near their properties.
“I think we will positively impact the neighborhood,” said Gagne. “A lot of times people with NIMBY (Not in My Backyard) issues approach treatment centers from a place of fear and if you can’t provide facts, they will fill in the gaps on their own and come to worse cast conclusions.”
A decision on the pair of requests is expected at the Planning Board’s next meeting in two weeks.
UPDATE: The requests were approved at the Oct. 18 Planning Board Limited Business meeting.
