Long Range Capital Planning committee approves leases, property disposals including Berlin hangar and new medical examiner facility

The Long Range Capital Planning & Utilization Committee on Jan. 28 approved a package of leases and property disposals, including a ground lease at Berlin Regional Airport for the New Hampshire Army National Guard, a 30-year lease with Concord Hospital for a dedicated medical examiner facility, and multiple Department of Transportation property listings and sales across the state.

The measures, taken during the committee's organizational meeting, included authorization to proceed with construction of an Army Aviation Support hangar on about 5.66 acres at Berlin Regional Airport in Milan; a 30-year lease with Concord Hospital for 10,500 square feet at 279 Pleasant Street to house the state's chief medical examiner offices, autopsy suite and morgue; a 10-year lease with the city of Concord for space at 91 Airport Road used by the New Hampshire State Police aircraft; and multiple approvals to list or sell state-owned remnant parcels in Concord, Conway, Lisbon, Effingham and Mount Vernon.

Why it matters: the approvals move forward planned facility and property decisions that affect state agency operations, local land use and federal funding compliance. The Berlin lease supports a federally funded military construction project intended to support National Guard training and search-and-rescue operations. The Concord Hospital lease addresses an immediate capacity gap for the state's medical examiner and is estimated to cost about $37.26 million over the 30-year term, according to the committee presentation.

The Berlin hangar

Jared Nyland, real property asset manager with the Department of Administrative Services, told the committee the proposed ground lease covers roughly 5.66 acres adjacent to the runway at Berlin Regional Airport and would allow the Department of Military Affairs and Veterans Services to construct an Army Aviation Support building. For the record, David Michalitis, introduced to the committee as the Adjutant General of the New Hampshire National Guard, said the project is financed with congressional construction dollars and “we're trying to build a hangar…