75 new apartments in Portsmouth: Wren's Nest redevelopment to bring more housing - Seacoastonline.com

PORTSMOUTH — A development team has received final approval to renovate and redevelop the Wren's Nest Village Inn site on Lafayette Road with 75 market-rate apartments.

The first building at the site — which is located at 3548 Lafayette Road — was built in the 1930s, according to Erik Saari of Altus Engineering Inc. He represented developers of the project at a recent city Planning Board meeting.

The site is now made up of what Saari described as "a very eclectic mix of motel units."

"There are your standard motel efficiency units, there are a number of standalone cottages, there are a few suites scattered throughout all the buildings," he told the board.

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The largest existing building, which was built in 1999, houses an indoor pool, which Saari said will be lost during the redevelopment.

"What we're proposing to do is to take down a few of the smaller structures, retain a majority of the structures, rehabilitate them for residential uses and add two new apartment buildings for a total yield count of 75 units, which is the maximum allowed by zoning," he said.

The development will also include a dog park, a bocce court, an 8-foot wide walkway coming from Route 1 into the development and an 8-foot wide multi-use path along Route 1, Saari said.

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The board voted unanimously to grant site plan approval to Monarch Village, LLC., as developers take on more projects farther out on Lafayette Road — and more distant from downtown — in Portsmouth's red hot housing market.

There will be 18 renovated studios, 15 renovated one-bedroom units, three renovated two-bedroom units and three renovated three-bedroom units, Saari said.

The two new buildings will feature a total of 36 two-bedroom units, he said.

"It's a pretty good mix," he added.

All 75 units will be for rent, Saari said, adding because the Portsmouth market "fluctuates on a daily basis," developers do not yet know the rent prices.

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Board Vice Chair Corey Clark, who made the successful motion to grant site plan approval for the project, credited the developers for "reusing the buildings on this site."

"They might not be the best looking buildings …but that's a huge amount of material that's not going to a landfill," he said.

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But board member Jane Begala said she had hoped for "a better architectural design than the drab picture you show for the new buildings."

"I actually think perhaps it's the ugliest thing I've ever seen," she said. "I'd like to offer something a little more livable if it's possible."

Norman Lee, one of the partners on the development team, said the renderings of the new buildings "don't necessarily convey the quality of workmanship that will be displayed."

"We'll be using a lot of high-end quality materials on the exteriors of the building," he said, and added that "all the units will be built with granite countertops."

"It will be built commensurate with what you see in the higher quality properties in the area," he said. "I'm sure you'll be quite impressed with the finished product when we're done."

75 new apartments in Portsmouth: Wren's Nest redevelopment to bring more housing - Seacoastonline.com