NH Town Looks to Tear Down Tannery; Halts Condo Project

Officials in the town of Penacook, New Hampshire, is considering demolishing the old tannery that has been the centerpiece of the town for the past 160 years, the Concord Monitor is reporting.

Originally, the town was planning on teaming up with Chinburg Builders to renovate the old textile mill into a complex featuring as many as 45 condominiums. The overall cost of the project would have been $9.6 million. A good deal of the cost would come from repairing the old building, which has been deteriorating since its last tenant abandoned the property back in 1987. The city has since condemned and purchased the property.

The project began to go south after it was discovered that, even after all of the condos were sold, there would still be aout a $2 million gap between construction costs and the gross sales figures of the 45 condos (about $7.9 million). The backbreaker came when the roof of the tannery collapsed recently due to a deteriorating structure from seeping water. The cost to properly repair the roof has pushed the cost far too high to justify continuing the project.

In a recent poll of about 60 residents at a town meeting, an overwhelming majority voted to have the town pay the necessary $375,000 and have the building demolished.