For the first time since its adoption, a developer has applied to receive a tax incentive set up to spur development in Greenville’s downtown – which, along with other ongoing and proposed developments, is sending hopeful signals to those who have been fighting for a revitalization.
Dan Hynes, owner of Dunster Realty, currently has an application before the town’s Planning Board to turn 8 Dunster Ave. – most recently a hair salon and the Antiques and Collectibles Mall of New England, but currently vacant – into a 10-unit apartment building.
Hynes anticipates making an investment of $170,000 or more into the property, to upgrade electricity and plumbing, making improvements to the siding, roof and parking, and retrofitting the building for apartments.
Hynes has applied for a tax incentive program related to the project – the first to do so since Greenville adopted the program in 2021, according to Town Administrator Tara Sousa. The Select Board will hold a public hearing to determine whether the project is in the public interest, and whether to grant the tax relief, but the incentive program was adopted specifically to generate development in Greenville’s downtown.
“It is meant for underutilized properties, specifically in downtown. That’s the purpose behind the statute being created,” Sousa said.
The program, adopted under RSA 79-e, allows a property owner who is making significant improvements to a property, particularly a historical property, to “freeze” the tax assessment for a specified amount of time – in Greenville’s downtown, for up to five years – allowing developers to recoup some of their renovation costs before the building is taxed on the added value.
Hynes said the tax incentive program is a “win-win” for both developers and the town.
“By deferring the tax, even for a few years, every little bit helps. And at the end of the day, I’ll have put hundreds of thousands of dollars into this building, and it’s conceivable its value could double – and the town gains from that increase. It’s good for the developer, good for the town, and good to have properties developed and look better,” Hynes said.
Hynes isn’t the only one proposing a major retrofit and redevelopment of a downtown building.
A former mill building, on the corner of Chamberlin Street and Mill Street, has twice been before the Planning Board for conceptual talks to put a large rehabilitation center in the building. Developers expect to have a formal plan before the town as soon as December for review.
Off of Pleasant Street, a large-scale open development is already underway, with a total of 55 units expected to be built in multiple phases. The first of the condos of the development, known as Barton’s Ridge, are already for sale.
On Main Street, town voters approved the purchase of two side-by-side lots during Town Meeting in March, which are intended to become off-street municipal parking.
Hynes – who originally proposed to turn the former Antiques Mall into a wedding venue with bed-and-breakfast accommodations upstairs – said parking is one of the biggest stumbling blocks to development downtown. It was the factor that made him change his application to a residential model, he said.
“The limiting factor is the parking. The only feasible option is residential units. I think that could potentially help,” Hynes said, speaking of the expected parking lot.
Hynes said no matter what happens with the building, he’ll be putting work into the exterior aesthetic, including replacing rusty, metal siding on one side of the building with siding to match the rest of the red, wooden exterior, and removing concrete barrier in front of the building.
Right next to the former Antiques Mall is another building undergoing significant rehabilitation – the one-time town train depot, which has spent its recent life as a string of restaurants. Owner Tom Hawkins has stripped the building down to its original configuration, and plans to use it as a home for his sign business when it’s finished, he hopes by next year.
Hawkins said he also intends to apply for the 79-e tax exemption, and has spoken with Sousa about the possibility.
He said he was excited to see more people beginning to invest in rehabilitating existing buildings in town and putting them to use.
“I see Greenville similar to other little mill towns. What happens is this town lost its industry, and it’s become a bedroom community. Properties have been allowed to deteriorate,” Hawkins said. “I think Greenville has become a place where people can live, and can rent inexpensively. There’s a lot of rental and there’s a lot of absentee landlords, and they’ve allowed the town to kind of deteriorate.”
Hawkins said he was attracted to the town because of the building he purchased, being a lover of history and the well-built architecture. He intends the building to be a workshop and offices, not a retail store – he sells and ships his merchandise mostly to out-of-state customers, he said – but said the eventual rehabilitation of the building and property, as well as that of the Antiques Mall, is an opportunity to raise the value of the downtown area.
“I think there’s an opportunity to really get something going, here,” Hawkins said. “I’m looking at some opportunities here. It’ll be good for the community, this being a vibrant business. It’ll be activity, and energy, and that’s what this town needs – it needs commerce.”
Rick Miller, who chaired a town economic development team formed in 2017 but which has been inactive in recent years, said the town intends to reform the committee after the New Year, in response to increased activity in town.
Miller said the group has already done work to identify Greenville’s attributes, and ways to address the concerns of residents and business owners in the Greenville downtown.
One of the highest priorities for the Main Street businesses has been parking, Miller said – a concern he hopes gets addressed by the anticipated purchase of off-street parking areas on Main Street.
“There are some things that are happening,” Miller said. “The parking issue on Main Street, hopefully, is going to be solved.”
Miller said he was encouraged by some of the development projects proposed or ongoing in the downtown area.
Miller agreed with Hawkins that he would most like to see commercial enterprises move into Main Street, but said rather see the Antiques Mall developed into apartments than continue to stand empty.
He said his priority is seeing to it that the town center remains on Main Street, rather than traveling onto the highway and the business strip on Route 31.
“There’s a lot of things going on, and that’s certainly encouraging,” Miller said. “It’s great having business out across from the Country Mile, but I’d much rather have something in the town center, a little market that would help people in town.”
The former Greenville Market is one of the key components to the downtown. Currently empty, it was recently undergoing renovations before being put up for sale before those renovations finished, and currently remains empty.
Miller said filling those empty storefronts should be a priority for the town, and noted that it’s not impossible, pointing to the recent revitalization of the Wilton Main Street. In Wilton, there were several large storefronts that were empty – some lingering without a tenant for multiple years – but in the past few years, all have been filled.
Miller said the town has assets, including a municipal water and sewer system, access to broadband internet, a proximity to the Massachusetts border and access to several main highways.
“It can be done,” Miller said.
Ashley Saari can be reached at 603-924-7172 ext. 244 or asaari@ledgertranscript.com. She’s on Twitter @AshleySaariMLT.