Variance approved for upcoming Pearl Street housing development

MANCHESTER, N.H. – On Thursday, the Manchester Zoning Board of Appeals unanimously approved a variance for the proposed Orange and Pearl Street lot housing development, allowing the upcoming development to build 366 dwelling units, which will include units classified as affordable housing.

Under Section 8.04 of the Manchester City Zoning Ordinance, only 249 units would be allowed on the 2.9 acre lot.

The building also has 654 parking spaces, with 500 available to the public as a replacement for the municipal parking lot the development will be replacing.

In documents submitted by Thomas Burns of TF Moran, representing applicant company Lansing Melbourne Group, it was believed that criteria for the variance were met given the structure’s similar size and density to nearby buildings in the central business district, the increased utilization for public use that the project would bring compared to its current use and the importance of adding house that the city government has placed in its new master plan.

The majority of traffic is expected to come in onto Church Street from Orange Street into the garage, which will be between a row of units abutting Orange Street and the majority of units just north of Pearl Street.

Members of the board expressed some concern about the density, but acknowledged that increasing density is part of any growing urban area such as Manchester, particularly in a central business district, and that residents of the units will contribute to the downtown economy.

The proposed development at Pearl Street parking lot along with a tandem proposal at the Hartnett Parking Lot were sold by the city last June after a request by the city seeking proposals to develop needed housing units on the properties while maintaining the same level of parking on site.