Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Portsmouth staff brief council on unsolicited PPEA plan for new city hall, garage; public hearing set for March 10
Summary
City Manager Steven Carter briefed the Portsmouth City Council on an unsolicited Public-Private Education and Infrastructure Act (PPEA) proposal for a new city hall, parking garage and public plaza. Staff estimated a conceptual construction cost near $86 million (about $93 million including financing), and asked the council to schedule a public hearing for March 10 to begin the statutory process.
City Manager Steven Carter told the Portsmouth City Council on Feb. 9 that the city has received an unsolicited proposal under the Public-Private Education and Infrastructure Act (PPEA) for a rebuilt city hall, a replacement parking garage and a public plaza near the Children’s Museum in downtown Portsmouth.
Carter said the submission came from a team identified as RHMCN (naming Ripley Hedwalt as lead developer, MEB as general contractor and Clark Nexon as architect/engineer) and stressed the council was not soliciting or endorsing that team. "PPEA stands for the Public Private Education and Infrastructure Act," Carter said, adding the statute provides checkpoints and exit points so the city retains control over whether to proceed.
Why it matters: the proposal aims to keep city government in the downtown area and, officials said, could help "unlock" waterfront redevelopment and support local businesses. Carter described the current city hall as undersized with deferred…
Already have an account? Log in
Subscribe to keep reading
Unlock the rest of this article — and every article on Citizen Portal.
- Unlimited articles
- AI-powered breakdowns of topics, speakers, decisions, and budgets
- Instant alerts when your location has a new meeting
- Follow topics and more locations
- 1,000 AI Insights / month, plus AI Chat
