PORTSMOUTH — The Town Council will get its first look next week at Church Community Housing’s (CCH) proposed plans for a new senior citizens complex off Bristol Ferry Road.  

The council on Tuesday, Aug. 10, will also hear a separate report on a cost estimate to simply repair the current building — about $5.77 million.

The CCH is proposing to construct a new one-story senior center just north of the current building, plus an attached three-story residential condominium building with 52 affordable senior housing units — 40 one-bedroom units and 12 two-bedroom units. The plan would also accommodate parking for 76 spaces.

The proposal also calls for keeping the southern portion of the current senior center building — built in 1928 and formerly used as the Anne Hutchinson School — but converting it into market-rate condos. The northern section, which was added in 1951, would be torn down to make room for the new building.

Due to Victory Day being celebrated on Monday, Aug. 9, the council is meeting at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 10. The hybrid meeting can be attended in person or via Zoom. The agenda, as well as instructions on how to join the meeting online, can be found here.

The town has been seeking a longterm solution to maintaining a senior center ever since numerous fire code violations were discovered in the current building in the fall of 2019. The town corrected most of the violations, but the more expensive ones — such as a needed sprinkler system — have not yet been addressed. 

The state fire marshal’s office was originally set to order the building closed on June 30 of this year, but an agreement was worked out to allow the northern wing of the building — containing its office, thrift shop, library, craft room and game room — open but subject to certain conditions. The remaining portion of the building — including the larger assembly and dining rooms — remain closed as the center cannot be used as a place of assembly.

The council voted unanimously in February to enter into a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with CCH on the development and use of the senior center and Coggeshall School properties for a mix of affordable housing and a senior center. (The plan to be presented to the council on Tuesday is for the Bristol Ferry Road site only, however.) A Senior Center Advisory Group — made up of two senior center representatives, two council members, the DPW director, town planner and three town residents — was formed in March to collaborate with CCH and rest of the development team on the proposal. 

Any course of action would still need voter approval at a town-wide referendum for the transfer of the property, feedback from residents on the master plan, and Town Council approval. 

During an interview on Thursday, Town Administrator Richard Rainer, Jr. said CCH’s proposal wouldn’t cost taxpayers anything, other than the town agreeing to buy a condo unit for the senior center that would include spaces not typically built in senior housing developments such as: a thrift shop, senior center staff offices, and a kitchen for senior center dinners. It would not be used for living quarters. The town would be eligible for funding toward the purchase price, Mr. Rainer said.

Comparing options, costs

The other option, favored by some residents who are opposed to CCH’s plan, is to renovate the current building so it’s safe and inhabitable again as a place of assembly. 

However, according to CGA Project Management, which the town hired to conduct an independent building analysis and study of the structure, the total project cost of those improvements would be more than $5.77 million. (CGA’s report, which is separate from CCH’s proposal, is also on Tuesday’s agenda.)

“That is to clear the code violations and get the Anne Hutchinson building back to being a functional building to be used as a senior center. It’s not going to change the look of the building,” said Mr. Rainer. 

Although some in town have argued that all the senior center building needs is a sprinkler system — CGA puts the cost of needed fire protection improvements alone at $637,058 — Mr. Rainer said that’s unrealistic.

“Once you start, you have to keep going down that road,” he said. “You can’t just put a sprinkler system in there. If you do that, that establishes a trigger point for the next thing.”

Other estimated costs

Here are the cost estimates for other improvements needed at the senior center building, according to CGA:

• $542,718 for improvements to the “building envelope” — replacing low-slope roof, making repairs and alterations to exterior walls, replacing the exterior door in the front lobby, and improving the ceiling of the original schoolhouse

• $330,000 for electrical work

• $390,000 for HVAC system improvements

• $80,000 to address potential hazardous materials

• $565,000 to address accessibility issues in the building

• $318,600.50 for materials and finishes, such as new carpeting and flooring

• $153,000 for plumbing upgrades

• $143,875 for structural improvements

• $365,600 for site improvements

Including the cost of the fire protection upgrades, those improvements total $3,525,851.50. Add nearly $2.25 million for contractor and design fees, unforeseen conditions and a 5.5-percent escalator, and you’ve got a grand total of $5,775,344.50, according to CGA.

Mr. Rainer said the CCH proposal makes much more financial sense for the town, while also putting the property back on the tax rolls. It also addresses another crucial need in Portsmouth: more affordable senior housing.

“Senior citizens are getting priced out of Portsmouth,” he said, noting that the proposal to connect a new senior center to the housing unit “makes financing easier” for CCH.

Some residents have expressed concerns over the fate of the Little League baseball field behind the senior center, but it would remain under CCH’s current plan. However, in order to accommodate the new senior center and condo units, the field would have to be relocated to the south side of the property. The new building would also necessitate moving the property’s septic field to the west, Mr. Rainer said.

Keeping center open?

Whatever the town decides to do with the property, one of the biggest concerns is whether the current senior center will be able to remain open until something new is built.

In its proposal, CCH says one of its goals is to prevent the “relocation and/or temporary closure” of the current senior center. Mr. Rainer said the town has hired a structural engineer to look at that building, and the hope is to not displace it until a new building is ready for occupancy.

“We’re going to do everything we can to keep that open,” he said.