The Town of Manchester is requesting proposals from experienced real estate developers interested in executing a transformative downtown project on a key gateway parcel. The development site includes two adjacent parcels, which together equate to a full Downtown block on Manchester’s Main Street. The site is currently zoned Central Business District (CBD) and is within a federally-designated Opportunity Zone. This is a mixed-use zoning district that allows a wide variety of residential and commercial uses. 

• The Forest Street lot (1050 Main Street) is a 1.59-acre parcel that occupies a prime downtown location at the corner of Main Street and Forest Street. The lot currently contains 116 parking spaces and can be accessed from driveways on Main Street and Forest Street.
• The second parcel, 942 Main Street, will be owned by the Town as of February 28, 2023. The .79 acre property includes a one-story residential building, to be demolished by the Town. Off-street parking standards are permissive and dimensional requirements are extremely flexible and intended to bring about denser urban development.

Manchester’s Downtown is in the midst of a positive transformation with millions of dollars in public and private funds over the past five years. While key incremental improvements have come steadily during that time, the Town’s efforts are about to be turbo-charged with a $39 million, 75,000 sf public library project in the pipeline. The project envisioned in this RFP will sit directly across the street from the new library location and is intended to both compliment and benefit from this generational public investment.

View the full RFP here. Responses are due by 11:00 AM on April 26, 2023.