Portsmouth seeks developers for below-market-rate housing at Sherburne School site

PORTSMOUTH — City staff recently sent out a request for qualifications (RFQ) to developers interested in working with the city on the “creation of permanent below market rate housing” at the former Sherburne School property.

City Manager Karen Conard told the City Council this week the RFQ “seeks both letters of interest with statements of qualifications from real estate development entities relative to their capacity to design and construct a project at this site.”

The roughly 5-acre city-owned property is located at 35 Sherburne Road.

Portsmouth Housing Authority leaders have said they welcome the chance to work with the city on an affordable housing project at Sherburne School and potentially other city-owned sites. But city officials sent out the RFQ to seek interest from other developers as well, after the city's Blue Ribbon Housing Committee recommended it.

Conard reported the RFQ went out to about 18 developers in New Hampshire, Maine and Massachusetts. The deadline for responses for interested developers is June 7.

Portsmouth Housing Authority Executive Director Craig Welch said “we’re excited about the opportunity to work with the city” on a Sherburne site project.

“We’d like to do Sherburne and think we can do something great there and get the community on board,” Welch said Wednesday afternoon. “And also continue to pursue other opportunities with the city as well.”

Housing Authority officials are “preparing a response” to the city’s RFQ, “like everyone else,” he said.

“I think we would be the best development partner for the city by a long shot,” Welch said.

He pointed to PHA’s long history of providing much-needed housing in Portsmouth, and added “we were founded by the city to do this work.”

“We’ve done it several times successfully with city-owned properties, whether it’s Atlantic Heights, Connors Cottage or the Lafayette School,” Welch said.

They also have a “locally controlled all-volunteer board” that continues to work to create more housing, including the below-market-rate Ruth Griffin Place, he said.

“We spent tens of millions of dollars investing in housing structures here in Portsmouth over the last several decades,” Welch said. “I think we sort of stand alone.”

He believes PHA is “the best suited and motivated” partner to work with the city on the Sherburne School project.

Plus, they already provide housing to about 1,000 people in more than 600 units in the city, he said.

“That’s about four and a half percent of the city that we house,” he said. “It’s lots of senior citizens and lots of kids.”

“We know Portsmouth and the needs of people in Portsmouth,” he added.

The RFQ, which was sent out on May 15, states the “ultimate disposition of the existing structures and other aspects of a potential development scenario for the site will be subject to negotiation.”

Interested developers are encouraged in the RFQ to share qualifications “that demonstrate their experience with innovative approaches to various permanent, below-market-rate housing development types and built projects.”

As part of the process, the city may “request financial references and current bonding limits” from the developers, according to the RFQ.

Creating affordable housing top priority for City Council

City staffers stated in the RFQ that “enhancing the supply of housing choices, especially the supply of permanent, below market rate housing options,” is the city’s top priority.

The property is served by city sewer and water, and includes the former Sherburne School, which was built in 1930, according to the RFQ. The building is approximately 18,000 square feet.

Interested developers are asked to provide their “experience with incorporating existing, historic structures into larger developments, as well as developing land without incorporating any existing structures,” according to the RFQ.

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The City Council in 2023 pitched an idea with the Portsmouth Housing Authority to build affordable housing on the site, but dropped the idea after receiving pushback from some residents of the nearby Pannaway Manor neighborhood.

Preserving school building

It was never settled if the existing school building should be redeveloped for housing, but the council seemed to agree that the building should be preserved.

The housing proposed by the Portsmouth Housing Authority was set to be located behind the existing school.

The former Sherburne School building has been the home of the Lister Academy – the city’s alternative high school – for many years. Lister Academy is being moved to the city-owned Community Campus property this fall.

Interested developers are being asked to share their experience building below-market-rate housing, working with municipalities and obtaining federal and state grants for housing projects.

The city will form a Selection Committee, which is expected to identify the 3-5 “most qualified” firms and ask them to respond to a Request for Proposals (RFP), according to the RFQ and Conard.

“The Selection Committee may make recommendations only, with any final decision on whether to proceed with a particular respondent to be made by the City Council,” the RFQ states.

Hope for several qualified developers

Mayor Deaglan McEachern hopes “there will be a significant amount of interest” from developers who respond to the RFQ.

“There’s a lot of folks looking to solve this problem,” he said Wednesday. “I’m interested to hear from them.”

Asked if he thinks the existing school building could be used for housing, McEachern said, “I just pulled into City Hall next to Connors Cottage. We have a long history of using historic buildings for housing.”

“I think there’s a possibility of putting housing there,” he added.

He pointed to the importance of preserving the former elementary school building even if it’s used for something besides housing.

City Councilor Josh Denton hopes the release of the Sherburne RFQ will bring in “several qualified developers who want to do an affordable housing project at the least cost possible.”

But he acknowledged, “I really don’t know what we’re going to get back. At a minimum, I anticipate the Portsmouth Housing Authority will respond, if more people put in and respond, the more the merrier,” Denton said.

He pointed to the “great experience” the city has enjoyed with the PHA’s below-market-rate Ruth Griffin Place developed in downtown Portsmouth.

Denton is “looking forward to seeing what is proposed,” for the project.

But he agreed that “the council has been steadfast that we want the Sherburne School building to remain.”

The selection criteria for who the city could pick to work with include “experience with projects of similar size and complexity,” experience with designing successful affordable housing and professional qualifications, according to the RFQ.

This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: Portsmouth seeks developers for housing at Sherburne School site