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Lincoln officials outline vision for 321-acre campus site; bridge, sewer and funding seen as major hurdles
Summary
Town leaders described a long-term plan for a 321-acre former campground intended for workforce and other housing but said high infrastructure costs — notably a bridge and water/sewer extension — and reduced state funding mean development will be gradual; a TIF district is planned for voter consideration.
Town officials detailed a long-term plan to develop roughly 321 acres purchased at the former Campus World campground, but said major infrastructure barriers and limited state funding mean housing will not arrive immediately.
A town representative said the property is intended for local workforce and retirement housing but is hampered by access: the existing bridge is too small for construction equipment and the town must identify a new bridge alignment, extend water and sewer service, and secure engineering and permitting. “Our obstacles is getting a bridge and water and sewer over that river ... so that's been a challenge,” the official said.
Speakers noted that the states initial Invest New Hampshire funding levels were cut during the budget process — a line item officials described as reduced from earlier proposals — and that a $5 million infrastructure allocation mentioned for Housing Champions had been reduced. Officials said applications for a second phase of Invest New Hampshire were under review.
To pay for needed roads, water and sewer, town leaders said they plan to ask voters this year to create TIF (tax-increment financing) parcels from the combined property so incremental property-tax revenue could be used to pay bonds for infrastructure. “So that we could then use the property tax money that otherwise wouldn't exist ... and use that to pay off bonds, or water, sewer, roads, bridges,” a town official said.
Officials said they are working with a potential developer and relying on engineers to determine the bridge location and required work before filing a DOT permit application for Route 3 access. Speakers stressed some acreage is steep and unbuildable, and that the development timeline will be long; town staff described the project as a working document and said they are consulting template documents and experiences from other towns.
The meeting record shows no formal vote on development approvals; town leaders said hearings and additional steps will precede any TIF or project approvals. The chair also announced an upcoming non-public session to discuss personnel matters with planning board members and staff.
