By PAULA TRACY, InDepthNH.org
LACONIA – The state has received five offers to purchase the former Laconia State School.
Charles M. Arlinghaus, commissioner of the state Department of Administrative Services, said when the deadline closed last Friday at the end of the business day, he was holding five proposals.
He said the state will “begin the process of evaluating them immediately,” but declined to say who they are from, how much they offered and what their proposed plans for the property are.
“I’m afraid that under the state’s confidential rules…the only thing I can release at this point is the number of bids.”
But he said Monday that the next steps include a “‘best and final’ process locking in the offers (I use “offer” purposefully as these are not ‘bids’ where all is equal except the price as in an auction, for example).
“An advisory committee will advise the governor and the governor will present a proposed purchase and sales agreement to the Executive Council. I suggested at a prior meeting that it was our goal to have a proposed Purchase and Sales on a Council agenda in perhaps August,” Arlinghaus said in an email.
The council is meeting on Wednesday, July 24, at the Rocks Estate in Bethlehem where there may be some discussion.
For much of the past century, the Laconia land at the corner of Parade Road and Meredith Center Road has been used for the state’s developmentally disabled.
In the 1990s it became a medium security prison and now it only houses a communications center for E-911 and the Lakes Region Mutual Fire Dispatch.
The previous attempt to sell the property failed with the potential buyer failing to secure funding.
In 2022, Manchester developer Robynne Alexander offered $21.5 million with ambitious plans to build residential and commercial real estate on the property After asking and receiving three extensions to close, the state gave her a deadline of April 22 to come in with the money and she defaulted and $200,000 in an escrow deposit was surrendered.
Executive Councilor Ted Gatsas, a Manchester Republican, was skeptical that Alexander would be able to come up with the money.
He has been looking over the process which began anew in late April when the Department of Administrative Services went back out to consider offers.
On April 23, the state announced the 217 Acres “in the Beautiful Lakes Region of New Hampshire” were back on the market.
Interested parties were encouraged to visit the website and engage through “the deal room.”
The site has potential but there are a number of issues related to aging structures which must be moved.
“The opportunity to redevelop the Laconia State School property into a vibrant economic and community center is immense,” said Gov. Chris Sununu in announcing it was back on the market.
“The hard work has already been done to prepare the property for sale. I remain optimistic that another buyer will see the opportunity, and when they come knocking, we stand ready to move quickly,” he said.
The state has been actively moving toward redevelopment of the property following years of work by the Lakeshore Redevelopment Commission.
Earlier, Arlinghaus said “the possibility of this unique property in this amazing location being back on the market has generated a remarkable amount of interest…I think the next chapter of this story promises to be something good for the State and Great for Laconia. I’m excited about the possibilities.”