Image courtesy of Lansing Melbourne Group

Despite the general contraction in real estate opportunities thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic and the accompanying recession, a developer is seeking to build 150 apartments in downtown Nashua.

Fort Lauderdale, Florida-based Lansing Melbourne Group answered a request for proposals put out by the city for a 0.68-acre parking lot next to the city’s downtown. The developer will pay $900,000 for the parcel.

Preliminary plans filed with the city show a 7-story, all-residential building with 138,880 square feet of residential space and a 5,633-square-foot amenity space, plus a courtyard for residents. The unit mix shown in the plans included 42 studios between 480 square feet and 600 square feet, 76 one-bedroom units between 650 square feet and 757 square feet and 32 two-bedroom-two-bathroom units between 948 square feet and 1,250 square feet.

The project will not have parking spaces on-site but instead, Lansing Melbourne is instructed to negotiate a 50-year lease with the city for 150 spaces at a nearby city-owned garage, at a rate of $50 per month per space within two years of the building receiving a certificate of occupancy. The developer must also pay a phased, $9,000-per-unit fee in exchange for the city allowing no onsite parking, which the city will use to maintain or expand downtown parking options.

The city’s Board of Aldermen heard details of a proposed development agreement with Lansing Melbourne at their April 14 meeting and assigned it to a committee for initial study before it returns to the full board for a final vote later this year, according to the Nashua Telegraph. The project will still need to go through the city’s normal land use and development approval processes.