Board deems Hackett Hill parcel surplus, authorizes negotiations with developer after nonpublic session

The Manchester Board Mayor & Aldermen voted to declare a City-owned parcel surplus and to authorize city staff to negotiate a final purchase and development agreement with the private developer identified in the meeting as Will Sower's company (referred to variously in the discussion as the Soa/Soja/Sewell family). The board also authorized the mayor to execute related documents once the parties reach agreement.

The board moved item 2 off the table, entered a nonpublic session, and subsequently sealed the minutes for that portion of the meeting. After returning to public session, the board took a series of motions: to deem the property surplus, to allow staff to negotiate with the named developer, and to allow the mayor to execute any necessary documents. Motions recorded in the public transcript were passed by voice vote; members responded "aye" and the chair confirmed the motions were approved.

During the public discussion captured in the transcript, Alderman Long framed the action in terms of a public-good justification tied to housing: he said the city has been waiting for development on the parcel for decades, noted past failed sales and a long-standing expectation of an additional northern exit, and said increasing housing supply would address affordability in Manchester. Long and other aldermen said the prospective developer has built multiple housing units in the city and that the proposal would include mixed use development. Aldermen also stated the developer would reconstruct an existing road through the property, which one speaker estimated would cost about $2.5 million. A speaker said the parcel under discussion was about 88 acres and noted the city has not collected property taxes on the land for many years.

The transcript records differing spellings of the developer's name during discussion; the board's motions refer only to negotiating with the company presented at the meeting. The motion to proceed was conditioned by the board on negotiating final terms and did not, in the public record, include a signed purchase agreement or a construction schedule.

The board indicated the approved actions will go forward to the full board (the body indicated this item will "go up to the full board tonight"). The public record in the available transcript does not include final sale terms, a purchase price, a development timeline, or detailed financing sources.