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Planning board grants conditional approval for condo subdivision at 734 Daniel Webster Highway
Summary
The Merrimack Planning Board granted conditional final approval to a two‑unit commercial condominium at 734 Daniel Webster Highway, a subdivision the applicant said is intended to facilitate financing for a previously approved 100,000 sq ft warehouse; the vote recorded an abstention.
The Merrimack Planning Board on May 6 granted conditional final approval to a condominium subdivision at 734 Daniel Webster Highway that would record the front house as one unit and the remaining property as a separate commercial condo tied to an approved warehouse project. The approval was conditional on the items listed in the staff memo dated 05/02/2025 and passed with the board tally recorded as 5 yes, 0 no, 1 abstention.
Matt Peterson of Keach Norris & Associates, representing the applicant, told the board the condominium subdivision is primarily a financing step while the owner seeks tenants for the warehouse at the rear. "So what we have proposed is the front house ... that actually still has some value there," Peterson said, and explained the bank is structuring separate financing for the house and the larger parcel. He also said the Department of Transportation permit for the warehouse is now in hand after lengthy delays.
Board members probed how temporary or permanent the condominium would be, noting the applicant had described the unit split as a financing mechanism that could later be extinguished. Staff advised the board it must treat the recorded condominium as functionally permanent for approval purposes; any later reconsolidation would be a separate, voluntary action by the owners. Members also asked how landscape buffers and lighting approved under the commercial site plan would be referenced; Peterson said the site‑plan documents already include the landscaping and that the subdivision does not change those approved site‑plan conditions.
The board opened and closed the public hearing with no external speakers. The staff recommendation for conditional final approval was adopted subject to the recommended conditions. The applicant was instructed to satisfy the written conditions in the staff memo; the applicant indicated they will proceed with the next administrative steps after recording the conditional approval. The board’s recorded abstention was from a member who expressed reservations about formally treating the condominium as permanent while recognizing the financing rationale.
Next steps: the applicant must meet the conditions noted in the staff memo dated 05/02/2025 before final recording and any future changes to the condominium arrangement would require separate filings with the town.
