Ossipee — October 7, 2007 — Plans for three box stores being proposed near the intersection of Route 16 and 28 in Ossipee have been shelved, at least for the time being.
Lori Murphy, who works in Marketing and Public Relations for Konover Development Corporation, which had announced plans to develop one of those pieces of land, said yesterday that the company currently has no plans for a project in Ossipee, although the Konover website, www.konover.com, still lists an Ossipee project under projects under development. Konover Development Corporation is a national real estate company, doing construction, property management, leasing, development and other real estate services.
Murphy responded in an email, “At this time, we have no plans to develop a project in Ossipee. While we were working with several landowners to explore development possibilities, we are no longer doing so. We appreciate the assistance and support we received from so many people in town. We wish to thank town staff and leaders for their interest in our work and commend them for their professionalism in our dealings with them while we were working in Ossipee.”
In 2006, Konover Corporation and T. F. Moran announced plans for building box stores on different pieces of land located near that intersection, discussing the proposal with Ossipee Planning Board officials and the state Department of Transportation.
In one case, the company and property owner Harry Merrow campaigned for a change in the town zoning ordinance in order to permit the construction of the store. But Merrow said in an interview Tuesday that Konover Development Corporation has cancelled its option on his property. Merrow said he received notification by mail in September that the company would not be exercising its option, which it held for more than a year. A single box store, or shopping center, was proposed for that location.
A second property, owned by Richard Baldwin, and located near the intersection of Routes 28 and 171, not far from Route 16, was to be the site of two other box stores. T.F. Moran, a New Hampshire consulting company, presented plans for the proposed project to the Department of Transportation. That project too is not moving forward. Chris Rice, project manager for T.F. Moran, confirmed Tuesday, that he has been told by the developer in that project to stop work on it, though he would not say the project is dead. He declined to name the developer in that instance. Nor could he say why the the plan is not moving forward. As a consultant, he said, “I’ve just been told to stop working on it.”
Baldwin also declined to comment further on the project.
Bill Oldenberg at N.H. Department of Transportation said the department was involved in “scoping meetings” with Konover and T.F. Moran for the two projects more than a year ago, but never received an application for a transportation impact study for either project. A scoping meeting is a preliminary meeting to discuss a proposed development project and its potential effect on surrounding roads and traffic patterns. A Transportation Impact Study looks at those issues in depth and determines what road improvements would be needed in conjunction with a development project.