What's next for Portsmouth's historic South Meeting House? $500K in repairs needed

PORTSMOUTH — The City Council seems to support the idea of releasing a request for proposals before it decides whether to lease the historic South Meeting House, and who would lease it.

Councilors discussed generally during a recent workshop meeting how a RFP could provide crucial information like what purpose a group wants to use the city-owned building for, how long they want the lease to last and if it's in a strong enough financial position to pay for ongoing and upfront maintenance.

City Manager Karen Conard told the council “we could point to almost half a million dollars right now in improvements that would make the building suitable year-round, comfortable, climate controlled and structurally sound.”

Maintenance is constant at South Meeting House

Joe Almeida, facilities manager for the city, said maintaining the historic South Meeting House “is like taking care of an old wooden ship, it really is. This is a very unique building that requires unique materials and methods, and it comes at a cost."

The South Meeting House, which is located on Marcy Street and used to be home to the Children’s Museum, was built in 1863, according to city records.

Because of the building’s age and “sheer size of it,” it requires “so much more” maintenance than other buildings, Almeida said.

“It’s constant, it’s absolutely constant … I would want at least $75,000 a year to maintain this building,” Almeida said in response to a question.

It also features unique structures, like the clock, which would be expensive to repair if needed, he said.

City Councilor John Tabor stressed “$500,000 is just the catch-up maintenance,” needed for the building.

If someone wants to move in and “fit it out for a new purpose,” Tabor believes that would cost “hundreds of thousands of dollars. We have to look at any applicant, and see if they can swing that."

More: Housing in Portsmouth at Service Credit Union? Water Country? Rezoning creates options

When asked how much it would cost for the city to use the space for offices, Almeida responded it would be “easily a million dollars to fit that building out.”

Finances a big consideration

Conard explained that typically when the city rents a city-owned building to a nonprofit, it charges what property taxes would have been for the site.

For the South Meeting House, that would have amounted to about $26,000 per year, she said.

But the last tenant there, Portsmouth Public Media, found it “increasingly difficult” to meet that obligation, Conard said.

“That’s really the challenge, and that really would have been the bare bones meeting the obligation,” she added.

City Councilor Andrew Bagley said he does not believe the “payment in lieu” agreements have had “great success. I think we should look for a new framework and I think we should make sure the balance sheet or the financial soundness is there so that people can maintain this building.

“I wouldn’t want to see us in a situation where we end up 10 years from now, and council has to dump another half million in because the building wasn’t maintained,” Bagley said. “I would put a lot of credence toward what is the actual financial capability of whoever might get the lease.”

Crucial part of Portsmouth’s history

City Councilor Kate Cook noted South Meeting House is on the National Register of Historic Places.

“That’s a really important consideration in regard to this building,” she said. “We have seen other buildings that are in the National Register downtown district that have been demolished because of lack of maintenance.”

Cook said the council needs “to be very mindful of that when we’re talking about this building. I would not support selling the building to anyone else. I think the city should maintain control of the building.”

Several other councilors shared her sentiment.

The building was recently appraised by the city at $1.7 million, according to city records.

Cook urged the council not to take a risk with “such a critical historic building.”

Councilor Rich Blalock said during his time on the Historic District Commission, he’s seen buildings “get demolished” because of neglect or lack of maintenance.

“It definitely needs some work,” Blalock added.

Conard broke down the estimated repair and maintenance costs needed at the South Meeting House.

They include $65,000 for window restoration, $225,000 for painting the entire building, $7,500 for gutter and downspout repairs, $75,000 for miscellaneous carpentry items on siding and doors, $50,000 for HVAC repairs and upgrades, $20,000 for ADA compliance and $50,000 for slate roofing repairs.

The exact total, she said in a memo to the council, is $492,500.

Interest from VFW, neighborhood group

City Councilor Josh Denton is also the commander of Portsmouth’s VFW Post 168.

During the public comment portion of the recent workshop meeting, he said the VFW remains interested in leasing the building from the city.

The VFW previously offered to pay the city as much as $500,000 to bring the historic building at 280 Marcy St. up to code in exchange for a 17-year lease of the property, and its associated parking.

He stated that the VFW does not have “any intent of selling alcohol at the building,” should they end up leasing it.

He stressed that the VFW is a “veteran service organization” whose most important task is making sure veterans get “the benefits they earned.”

The VFW also organizes veterans events, such as the annual Memorial Day parade, Denton said.

It also recently donated $50,000 to the city to establish a VFW high school scholarship, he said.

“The VFW is far more than just a bar, and we’re not looking at establishing a bar where alcohol will be served,” Denton said.

The historic building would be used for “a place for us to meet, relax, and help veterans in the community.”

Denton did not participate in the council’s discussion.

South End resident Jeff Dorow read a letter from The South Meeting House Preservation Group, which he’s involved with.

The letter states that the group wants to see the historic building used for something “that’s in harmony with the neighborhood,” he said.

“If we align in purpose and structure, we will commit $1 million toward the same,” he said.

His group is seeking to eliminate any financial burden the city might face, “while maintaining the heritage, spirit and purpose of the South Meeting House,” Dorow said.

Because the meeting was a workshop meeting, no formal votes were taken.

This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: What's next for Portsmouth's historic South Meeting House?