Condos, retail space proposed for Hampton beach site

Location was Old Salt's home before 1999 fire

February 14, 2012 2:00 AM

HAMPTON — The vacant lots on Ocean Boulevard, where the Old Salt restaurant and several other businesses used to stand, might finally become the location of a four-story, 36-unit residential condominium building with ground-floor retail space.

Property owner Ted Sanderson will go before the town's Zoning Board on Thursday, Feb. 16, to seek reapproval of more than a half dozen variances for 83, 89 and 81 Ocean Blvd. and 5 J St.

While the project was approved in 2004, the approval expired. Zoning Board member Tom McGuirk said approval is only good for two years, with a third year available if the applicant requests an extension. McGuirk, who will step down from the hearing because his restaurant and bar is an abutting property, is hopeful the long-awaited project may finally come to fruition.

"The property has been vacant for 13 summers," McGuirk said. "I'm just excited that there will once again be foot traffic down at the end of the beach."

The property became vacant after a 1999 fire destroyed the Old Salt Eating and Drinking Place and the Beachwalk Enterprises.

What is believed to have started as a trash fire at 2:40 p.m. June 16, 1999, quickly spread to engulf the restaurant and the other buildings that housed Cecile's Gift Shop, Lexie's Pizzeria, Haven's Cafe and six apartment units.

Aided by a strong westerly wind, the fire then spread to Springfield Motor Lodge.

More than 200 firefighters from 23 communities responded to the blaze, and it took more than four hours to get it under control.

The property has been used as a parking lot for the last 12 years, while the redevelopment project was put on hold because of litigation.

Abutters, led by Michael Scanlan, fought against the project, which was first to be known as the Majestic, then the Breckenridge. The case reached the state Supreme Court.

In opposing the project, Scanlan and other abutters cited the size of the complex, the impact on property values, traffic in the area and claimed the project doesn't fit the Hampton Beach master plan.

Scanlan no longer owns the abutting property.

While developers won their legal battle in 2007, construction was held up because of the struggling economy.

In the application to the Zoning Board, attorney Peter Saari, representing the developer, said the new proposed project is dramatically smaller than the old burned-down buildings and will bring in substantially more tax revenue.

Saari argued the variances are needed to make the project work. Variances being sought include relief from required lot area per dwelling, maximum stories, setbacks and parking requirements.

Saari said denying the variances could result in more years with nothing more to show at that location than a parking lot.

"We were the only abutters that didn't oppose the project the last time around," McGuirk said.

McGuirk said the developer has worked to address many of the concerns brought up by abutters in the past, including expanding the buffer between the proposed project and neighboring properties.

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Condos, retail space proposed for Hampton beach site