Elaine Persons, Chair of the Manchester Housing Authority, and John Feuerbach, Chair of the Manchester Affordable Housing Trust, are pleased to announce that the two organizations have jointly issued a Request for Proposals (RFP) for the redevelopment of the three apartment complexes owned and managed by the MHA. These include Newport Park and The Plains as well as the housing units on Loading Place Road. Also included in the RFP is the potential for future development of the property on Pleasant Street which currently serves as the maintenance yard for the Department of Public Works. However, the DPW site must be declared surplus and any transfer of ownership must be approved by a vote of Town Meeting.
The basic development concept was overwhelmingly endorsed by the voters at the Town Meeting this past November. Since then, the Boards have been working together to finalize the RFP with the approval of the Massachusetts Department of Housing and Community Development (which must approve the final development plan) and Town Counsel.
The purpose of the Request for Proposals is to select an experienced development organization to
The selection process will be open to the public and conducted in open meetings. Selection criteria are listed in the RFP, but the experience and technical capacity of the development team will be critical. Once a development team has been selected, a planning process will commence with neighborhood input, review from other town boards including the Select Board, Planning Board, Conservation Commission, and Board of Health. Once a plan has been finalized, the improvements can be designed, development funding can be put in place, and permits can be approved. This process will take many months and perhaps years to accomplish.
The Proposal Submission Deadline is October 24, 2022. The RFP is available for anyone to read. It can be found online at the Document Center on the town’s website. For more information, contact Town Planner, Sue Brown or any member of either the MHA or MAHT.
