Infill Development Case Studies

Issues Addressed:
Housing Costs Infrastructure Redevelopment

Marshall Street Apartments, Nashua, NH

The site at 22 Marshall Street is located in downtown Nashua and was home to Beebe Rubber Company, which manufactured rubber products at that location for about 70 years. Buildings were demolished on 22 Marshall Street before and after infill development. (Images via Google StreetView (top) and Metropolis Property Management (bottom)). 64 Infill Development the property in 2001 after the plant closed and soil contamination was later discovered. Cleanup had been ongoing for a number of years and in 2020 construction of a new multifamily residential project with 152 units was completed. A variety of tools were employed by both the developer and the City to make the project possible, which was funded, in part, by the New Hampshire Finance Authority.
22 Marshall Street before and after infill development. (Images via Google StreetView (top) and Metropolis Property Management (bottom)).

Orpheum Apartments, Dover, New Hampshire

The site on Washington Street had been home to Robbins Auto Supply Company since the 1930s. The company was a local, family-owned business that was sold in 2009 and business operations on the property ended in 2011; the buildings sat vacant for several years. Previously, the State Theater and the Orpheum Hotel had been located within this block of buildings. The Orpheum Apartments, an infill project in Dover. (Image via Orpheum) 65 Infill Development Over the past decade, the City of Dover has worked to set the stage for new infill development in its downtown by adopting many of the tools that are included in this document. In 2018, demolition began on the Robbins Block to make way for a new five story mixed use building with ground floor commercial and 130 residential units. The project was completed in the summer of 2020.
The Orpheum Apartments, an infill project in Dover. (Image via Orpheum)

42 Lafayette Square, Haverhill, MA

A developer in a historically disinvested mixed-use area of Haverhill, MA proposes to construct 14 market-rate housing units and two commercial units in a four-story building. The site had been vacant for 23 years after a fire destroyed the previous structure. The size and architecture of the proposed building is in line with its neighbors, as well as the previous structure. The proposal is the work of a developer who has invested elsewhere in the immediate vicinity and who is attempting to make transformative investments in the area.
The presently vacant lot and proposed building at Lafayette Square in Haverhill, MA. (Images via Google Street View (left) and Atlantis Investments (right).)

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A diagram showing an axonometric view of an area with several two- and three-story buildings. An area is demarcated on the land and labeled "Designated Downtown or Village Area." Most of the buildings are grayed out, but one building is shown in color and labeled "Rehabilitated Property." Below the axonometric drawing is the label "Community Revitalization Tax Relief" with a column chart with two bars. The column on the left is labeled "Before rehab" and "Taxed value on property before rehabilitation." That column is small and shown in green. A larger column on the right is labeled "After rehab." The portion of the column equal to the "Before rehab" column is also green. The portion above that is gray and hatched and labeled "Untaxed value on rehabilitation: savings for up to 5 years."
Community Revitalization Tax Relief (79-E)
An axonometric diagram of two buildings next to each other. One building is four stories with two entrances. On the bottom story there is a sign for "nh hardware." The second building is two stories with three entrances (including a corner entrance), awnings, and cafe tables). The drawing is labeled "Retail, restaurant, and other active uses on ground floor" and "Housing on upper levels."
Mixed-Use Development
A diagram of a single-family subdivision with twelve homes. Eight homes in red are labeled "Base Market-Rate Units." Two homes in yellow are labeled "Affordable Units." Two homes in blue are labeled "Bonus Market-Rate Units."
Inclusionary Zoning
A diagram of five drawings connect by one-way arrows. First, a drawing of yellow notes labeled "Municipal bond." Second an axonometric drawing of a street with the road and underground pipes showing, labeled "Infrastructure." Third a drawing of a building labeled "Private development." Fourth, a column chart showing a small column on the left in light green, and a large column on the right with a gray area equal in size to the first column and a green area above. The chart is labeled "Property taxes on increased values." Fifth and finally, a drawing of a $50 bill labeled "Bond payments."
Tax Increment Financing (TIF)
A drawing of a plot of land. Most of the land is shown in green and planted with trees, with two small houses. It is labeled "Sending Zone: Land owners sell development permissions to preserve open space/agriculture." A smaller area is grayed out and shows many buildings. It is labeled "Receiving Zone: Land owners buy development permissions to increase allowed density."
Transfer of Development Rights (TDR)
Three axonometric diagrams connected by one-way arrows. First, a small home on a small plot of land labeled "Historic, compact development pattern." Second, a larger home on a larger plot of land with arrows specifying setbacks, etc. labeled "Development mandated under zoning." Third and finally, a home and land parcel the same size as the first drawing, with arrows indicating setbacks, etc. and labeled "Reduced requirements."
Reduced Zoning and Subdivision Requirements
A diagram showing an axonometric view of an area with several colorful 1.5 and two-story homes. An area is demarcated on the land and labeled "Designated Housing Opportunity Zone." Below the axonometric drawing is the label "Taxes in Housing Opportunity Zone" with a column chart with two bars. The column on the left is labeled "Before new development" and "Taxed value on property before development." That column is small and shown in green. A larger column on the right is labeled "After new development." The portion of the column equal to the "Before new development" column is also green. The portion above that is gray and hatched and labeled "Untaxed value on new development: savings for up to 10 years."
Housing Opportunity Zones