Nashua Board of Aldermen Meeting: LMG Redevelopment Proposal – August 8, 2025
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Nashua Board of Aldermen Meeting: LMG Redevelopment Proposal – August 8, 2025
This meeting featured a presentation by Lansing Melbourne Group (LMG) regarding their vision for redeveloping the former South Common area, adjacent to the Keefe Center. The presentation detailed the project's design, housing diversity, affordability components, and community integration. Following the presentation, the board voted to enter non-public session to discuss business terms.
Consent Calendar
- No consent calendar items were discussed.
Public Comments & Testimony
- No public comments were received during the public portion of the meeting.
Discussion Items
- LMG Presentation on Redevelopment Vision – Peter Floats, founder and president of LMG, along with architect Tim Engelberg, presented the preliminary concept for redeveloping the block that includes the former middle school site. Key elements included:
- Housing diversity: studios, one-bedroom, two-bedroom units, and townhouses (13 for-sale affordable townhouses proposed).
- Affordable housing component: 59 total affordable units (46 multifamily + 13 townhouses), based on available state funding.
- Block design: bisecting the oversized 750' x 650' block into walkable quadrants, with buildings pushed to the street to create a village center.
- Architecture: three- and four-story buildings, New England style, with townhouses scaled to match adjacent single-family homes.
- Community spaces: a central courtyard with a pavilion, a small jewel park (potentially for a café or childcare), and a pedestrian spine connecting to Main Street.
- Parking: dedicated spaces near the Keefe facility for drop-offs, with parking tucked behind buildings.
- Project Background: Floats noted LMG's previous public-private partnerships in Nashua (High Street Flats, NIMCO, Bagshaw) and other cities (Concord, North Carolina; Kannapolis, North Carolina). He emphasized that affordability is increasingly important to public-private ventures and that NeighborWorks is a partner.
- Market Context: Engelberg highlighted the 2024 RFP's call for housing diversity and the need to reimagine Nashua. He noted that commercial success downtown depends on residential density.
Key Outcomes
- Motion to Enter Non-Public Session: Alderman O'Brien moved to go into non-public session under RSA 91-A:3 to discuss business terms of the proposal. The motion was seconded by Alderman Tyler and passed unanimously by roll call: 10-0. The board entered non-public session at 7:56 p.m.
- No other votes or decisions were taken during the public session.
Meeting Transcript
Because a devolution of the confidential information likely would render the proposed actions ineffective until such time as the board of Algman determines that the purpose of the confidentiality would no longer be served. And devote by roll call. Yes, but don't forget all the mentibadone. Five minutes. Yep, five minutes. Okay. So Director Cummings. Yes, thank you, Madam President. Again, this evening, we have a proposal by LMG to discuss their vision for the redevelopment site. Again, uh, the way I envision uh this uh this next hour or so unfolding is they will do a presentation uh to the body. Um, my recommendation is it be in public, and then if you do have questions and you feel those questions will be in a nature that would go uh in the realm of business terms that you uh then go into a non-public session uh for those types of questions, and then we could come out after. So, Madam President, with that being said, I have uh Peter Floats, president of LMG here this evening to uh give you a little bit of an overview along with his architect. Uh and so with that being said, if if you'd like, we could approach and start the presentation. Absolutely. Great, thank you. Thank you. Uh good evening. Are these on all the time? Uh yes. Yes. And you just being the wheel. Yes. This is cool. It's backwards. Can we change the most? Yeah, sorry. Okay. Good evening, everybody. My name is Peter Floats. I'm the uh founder and president of Lansing Melbourne Group. Uh, some of you may be familiar with us. Um we're we finished up High Street Flats uh in downtown uh about a year and four months ago. Um I think we may have a slide or two on that. And um we were the successful bidder on the NIMCO project, um, which we are about to start demolition on in the next 30 days. Uh I literally signed the contract for that this past week. Um since then, we bought the Bagshaw building next door. Um I guess we like Nashua a little bit. Um between those and uh High Street. Uh we also had bought an industrial parcel uh here in town that unfortunately uh somebody bought from us before we got a chance to get going on it. So um we've invested about between what we're gonna do on Nimco and Bagshaw and then High Street Flats, a couple hundred million dollars here in town in the last uh two years, and then going forward over the next two years, and uh and we can't get enough. So happy to be here uh by the skin of my teeth. I literally landed in Boston an hour and 42 minutes. Um so I'll try not to pant. Uh you've seen the slides, I think, before. I I'm not expecting anybody to read here, but more more importantly than anything else. I wanted to just point out the fact that we've partnered with neighborworks on this project. That is not the first time we partnered with them. There are partners on a project in Manchester that we're getting ready to break ground on in September. Um we've been really impressed with them as a partner. We've been impressed with their business model and their ability to deliver affordable product.
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