Manchester green-lights plan for Parkade mixed-use space
MANCHESTER — The long road to reviving the former “dark side” of the Manchester Parkade passed another milestone Monday and site work on the mixed-use development is due to start soon.
The planning and zoning commission approved the master development for the town-owned site off Broad Street, along with a detailed plan for utilities and infrastructure. The planned $140 to $150 million Silk City Green development is to include apartments, offices, retail shops and a hotel.
Voters approved an $8 million bond issue in 2009 to redevelop the 148-acre Broad Street Redevelopment Area, which includes the approximately 24-acre Silk City Green site. Since then, the town has purchased and demolished a blighted shopping plaza, bought and demolished former automotive businesses on the other side of Broad Street, completed a $5 million reconstruction of Broad Street, and bought and torn downa vacant restaurant to open a connection between Center Springs Park and the redevelopment area.
“The board of directors, redevelopment agency, PZC and staff have worked extremely hard over the years to get us to this point and the developers have invested their time, money and vision into Broad Street and the Manchester community,” planning and economic development director Gary Anderson said Tuesday. “We are at a place now when we can anticipate seeing a shovel in the ground soon. It’s been a long time coming, but we are excited to finally be here.”
Harry Freeman, a principal of the developer, Manchester Parkade I LLC, said he anticipates building construction will start in the fall. Plans show 800,000 square feet of buildings, including 480 apartments, 70,000 square feet of office space, 42,000 square feet of retail space and a 120-room hotel.
Freeman described the development both as “a modern take on the old Main Street” and a “city of the future,” with public squares where people can gather and the latest technology.
The town board of directors in August approved a development agreement with Freeman and partner Michael Licamele that included conceptual plans for the site. The developers will have to submit detailed plans for each of the buildings.
Each of the project’s planned three phases is expected to take about two years. Town leaders wanted the first phase to include buildings fronting Broad Street, Anderson said, so the first structures will include an apartment building and an office building on the eastern side of the site, now a vacant patchwork of grass and cracked asphalt. The first phase also includes a retail/residential building and a commercial building, according to the plans.
Apartments will be market rate and geared toward both young professionals and empty-nesters, Freeman said. Office space will be marketed to service-oriented and medical businesses, while retail will be small businesses such as a hair salon and dry cleaner, he said.
Silk City Green will be powered by four on-site fuel cells, and developers say the project will incorporate the latest green technologies, including high-speed fiber optics, sustainable building design and electrical vehicle plug-ins. About 60% of the approximately 1,000 parking spaces will be underground to provide as much green and community space as possible, according to the project narrative.
The planned greenway would complete a multi-use trail from downtown through Center Springs Park. A park on the greenway is to include resting areas and open spaces for picnicking, developers say.