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Liquor Commission authorized to proceed with Hampton welcome-center land sale; seeks minimum $15 million
Summary
The committee approved the New Hampshire Liquor Commission's request to pursue sale and redevelopment of two Hampton welcome-center parcels via an RFP, with the commission retaining the land beneath new store buildings and ramps and seeking no less than $15,000,000 to apply toward retiring bond debt.
Andrew Davis, chief administrator for real estate leasing and development at the New Hampshire Liquor Commission, told the Long Range Capital Planning & Utilization Committee that the commission ran an RFP (RFP 2024-001) to redevelop two state-owned Hampton properties that currently contain northbound and southbound liquor stores on Interstate 95. Davis said the commission received four proposals and is seeking authority to complete negotiations and execute a purchase-and-sale agreement and master development agreement with a minimum price "not to be less than 15,000,000."
Davis said the commission intends to retain ownership of the land directly under the new liquor store buildings and ownership of the ramps and on/off access, while conveying other surplus parcels in fee simple to the successful developer. He said the proceeds of the sale have been earmarked to retire bond debt of the commission and that the commission will fund construction of two new state-owned liquor stores from capital appropriations already obtained.
Committee members asked whether the commission had analyzed the trade-offs between a long-term ground lease (the approach used in Hooksett) and a fee-simple sale. Davis said no formal cost comparison was done because the decision was made to convey fee-simple interests for this procurement; he said Hooksett had followed a different path in which much of the land is ground-leased by DOT with long-term developer leases. Davis also said the commission offered the properties to the Department of Transportation, but the former DOT commissioner declined, citing competing resource priorities.
Davis described rezoning work by the town of Hampton (creation of an interstate overlay district) that allows amenities such as food and fueling in new development, and he said site visits to the Portsmouth Traffic Circle informed bidders that the commission seeks stores closer to the Portsmouth model (about 23,000 square feet; Portsmouth construction cost modeled at approximately $7,200,000). He said the commission expects the properties will return to the Town of Hampton's tax rolls once conveyed.
A committee member asked whether both parcels would be sold to a single developer or multiple developers; Davis said the RFP left the door open to multiple structures or a single developer depending on market responses. The committee also discussed the role of Federal Highways and DOT in preserving ramp access; Davis said the commission will retain the ramps in perpetuity and the RFP proposals complied with Federal Highway and DOT restrictions.
A motion to approve the Liquor Commission's request was made, seconded and approved by voice vote. The commission will proceed with negotiations aiming for a purchase-and-sale/master development agreement at or above the $15,000,000 threshold; if proposed terms fall below the minimum, Davis said the commission would return to the committee for further approval.
The transcript records the committee's approval without a roll-call tally.
