Minutes 08/21/1972 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Au~qt 21 _ 1 qT.?. This letter is addressed to you in light of certain newspaper articles which indicate that the Portsmouth Redevelopment and Housing Authority may submit to the Council a proposal to include in its project the parcel owned by our clients which is located on the west side of Broad Street. As previously stated, this parcel contains approximately two acres and is presently unimporoved. Hence there appears no pressing need for the inclusion of same in any redevelopment project. On the other bani, our clients would suffer substantial damage were this parcel to be taken for housing purposes in light of their commitment already made for the entire parcel plus progress of ~he development on the east side of Broad Street. Therefore, if such a program is being espoused by the Housing Authority we would like to take this opportunity to state our clients objections to having this unimproved parcel of land included in any such project. There appears to be no rational basis for such an in- clusion and there would be very definite damage suffered by the owners of the property should it be included, and finally, the best interests of the City would be best served by permitting the present owners to continue to develop this property as previously set forth and agreed to bX the City. Finally, in the event serious congideration be given to such a proposal by the Housing Authority, if indeed such has been made, our clients would appreciate an opportunity to present a detailed objection concerning the inclusion of the portion of their property above described." The following spoke: Herbert K. Bangel, Attorney for Harry G. McC.r~ady Rnd.~I'eCread-y M6tors, ~Inc. presented the following: "We want to express publicly that we very definitely approve servation and Redevelopment Project as we feel that it is for the in the n~ighborhood as well as the entire City of Portsmouth. the Mount Hermon Con- good of the people living We Wish to congratulate the citizens living in the Mount Hermon area for their fore- sight in getting this program started, and we wish to also extend our congratulations to the Portsmouth Redevelopment and Housing Authority for moving the program toward conclusion. McCready Motors located at 3040 High Street in dealership at that si%e until JanuAry 15, 1972, when Comer Lincoln-Mercury. the year 1940 and operated an automobile they leased their properties to Don Mr. McCready has previously initiated plans to acquire the approximately 81,000 square feet of land located north of his property for the purpose of developing a new facility for Ford Motor Company and Don Comer Lincoln-Mercury. On April 4, 1972, he acquired the norther~ most property ~n Block 19-B (that property bordering on the southern side of London Boulevard with the plan and intent to acquire all of Block 19-B. This additional property was, and is needed for the expansion of the automobile dealership operation. Our purposes for appearing tonight are two-fold. Furst, to congratulate all those~in- volved in fhe development of the Mount Hermon Conservation and Redevelopment Project, and secondly, to let Mr. McCready's plans be known to the Portsmouth Redevelopment and Housing Authority and request that upon its completing the acquisition of Block 19-B, it permit Mr. McCready to purchase this 81,000 square feet of property and thereby complete the plans that have heretofore been initiated by him." L. Cleaves Manning, Attorney, representing the Mt. Hermon South Side Civic League, presented the following statemen~ and telegram: Statement -"Most, if not ~11 of you are acquainted with the Mt. Hermon Southsid~ Com- munity League which was established on September, 1967. Its membership consists of virtually all the Stable adult population of the Mt. Hermon area - in excess of t,500 members~ At each regular semi-monthly meeting attendance has regularly been in excess of 150 persons. For five years how this group has worked diligently seeking avenues through which this area of Portsmouth might be ungraded and improved. The proposal before you this evening is the culmination of those efforts. To this point both the City and the Housing Authority have been unyielding in their attitude of assistance and helpfulness to this g~9~p. We certainly hope that with the real breakthrough in sight,.the City will approve the plan put forward so that Portsmouth can take full advantage of the $10.4 million authorizatien which the Federal Government has announced for this project. Now, in the past when the Portsmouth Redevelopment and Housing Authority has undertaken redevelopment projects, often it has been the citizens in the communities involved who have made t~e greatest 6Ftcry. I well recall the problems with Lincolnsville. Here we have a situation where the residents - because this is a Conservation and Redevelopment P~ogram - stand four-square behind the Psrtsmouth Redevelopment & Housing Authority