Micro unit apartments to go up at old Statey site
PORTSMOUTH — The owners of 238 Deer St. in the city’s rapidly developing North End received a temporary construction license so they can redevelop the property into an already approved 21 micro units apartment project.
The City Council this week voted unanimously to approve the roughly 13month construction license for 238 Deer Street LLC, which owns the site that was formerly home to Statey Bar & Grill.
Restaurateur Eli Sokorelis is the principal of the company, according to documents filed with the New Hampshire secretary of state.
Crews demolished the former Statey building in September.
It will be replaced during the anticipated 13 months of construction with a new four-story building with micro units on the second, third and penthouse levels, and retail space on the ground floor.
All of the 21 micro units will be 500 square feet or less and will be leased at market rates, the developers have said previously. When completed, it will be the first micro-unit project in downtown Portsmouth, city officials have said.
PROVIDED RENDERING VIA CITY OF PORTSMOUTH
What to expect during micro units construction on Deer Street
The developers have agreed to pay a total of $56,208 to the city to encumber four different areas around the site during construction.
The developer needs the space “in order to construct the project and provide a barrier to public safety,” Deputy City Manager Suzanne Woodland told the council this week.
The areas the developers will use during construction include “a portion of the sidewalk, two parking spaces, part of a public access easement … and a small portion of Deer Street,” Woodland said.
The construction license began on Tuesday and is expected to run through Oct. 31, 2024, she said.
Before it became the Statey, the same building was the headquarters of VFW Post 168. Its members agreed to sell the property to Sokorelis in 2017.
Parking issue resolution cleared way for project
The project is moving forward after the city Planning Board granted a Conditional Use Permit for the redevelopment to allow no on-site parking.
The site is located directly across the street from the city’s Foundry Place Garage, the city’s second municipal parking garage.
Attorney Sharon Somers, who represented the developers at a May Planning Board meeting, said receiving the parking CUP was the “last step required before construction can begin.”