By BOB MARTIN
Eagle Times Staff
CLAREMONT, N.H. — The Claremont City Council approved a pair of tax relief incentive opportunities for an applicant who is devoting money to renovating units that will be available for much needed low-income housing in the city.
Ericka Luebberman of Mi Casitas Enterprises, LLC applied for 79-E relief for mixed multi-family, commercial building at 65 Pleasant Street, as well as 16-26 Factory Street.
The building at 65 Pleasant Street was built in 1935 and is on a 0.7-acre parcel in the Historic District and Downtown TIF District. It is currently assessed at $324,300, according to City Planner Austin Ford. This request was on the agenda for a meeting that was scheduled last month but rescheduled for Wednesday night.
“The applicant plans to renovate all units and commercial space currently in the structure,” Ford said. “The applicant also plans to add four units in the upper story. This will give needed housing in the city of Claremont where rental vacancy is near zero percent.”
The applicant has a plan to apply for a lead abatement program through Sullivan County, with Luebberman telling the city council that he will also be getting up to $22,000 for each of the 11 units.
Ford noted that the proposed work for the improvements will require site plan approval by the planning board. Luebberman also said there are discussions with the Historic Commission that are still underway.
He said work includes a new sprinkler system, a second egress and renovations and painting on the outside of the building. He said the outside will be all brick.
“We are trying to bring the property to look like my favorite era, the 1920s,” Luebberman said, noting that he has been involved in discussions with the Historic Commission about this. “The outside of the building and even the signage.”
The city council discussed how much time would be needed to go through planning board approvals and also have permits finalized. They discussed 90 days from the meeting, but felt it was a little too aggressive. Mayor Dale Girard suggested by giving him until the end of 2026 to have the project completed to not put him in a corner that was not attainable.
Luebberman applied for a five-year tax relief and the agreement is that he will need to get his permits in place by the end of this year, and then 15 months beyond that he needs to completed.
The resolution application includes an estimated cost of $601,800 but Luebberman said in actuality it could be as much as a million-dollar project, which is why a tax relief would be so helpful.
The city council voted 8-1 with Andrew O’Hearne casting the only “no vote.”
In a separate resolution, Luebberman also requested the tax relief for 16-26 Factory Street. This building was built prior to 1920, is in the Historic District, and assessed at $376,500. Currently there are three of the six available units rented out, and the plan is to renovate all six units.
Luebberman admitted that the units are “destroyed,” and said that even the ones that are occupied are nearly non-habitable. However, there is nowhere to send the tenants and he said that when they are renovated, they will not be thrown out.
Luebberman said these properties are already going through the lead abatement program, and he was ready to start renovations as soon as possible.
“This is something we want to do immediately,” he said.
Ford said this project meets the investment minimum of $75,000, as $583,800 is planned for the project. The applicant requested five years of tax relief, but the board decided on three years. The plan does not trigger a site plan review.
The board voted 8-1 for to have a proposed July 1, 2025, start date for the project, and an end date of March 31, 2026.
