Dover waterfront project inching closer to reality

DOVER — The city’s waterfront process may hit another milestone if the Cochecho Waterfront Development Advisory Committee votes Tuesday to approve a term-sheet agreement with its preferred developer for the city-owned property.

The agreement calls for approximately 475 units that are either part of a multi-family residential unit or hotel rooms. It also calls for about 25,000 square feet of street-level commercial space out of a total of 500,000 square feet of development on the property. The city would sell the property to Cathartes for $3.4 million, which is calculated by $7,100 per unit. The total cost could be less if Cathartes completes parts of the public infrastructure improvements the city is required to undertake as part of the development.

The agreement, if approved by the committee on Tuesday, would still need to be approved by the Dover Housing Authority's board of directors followed by the City Council. If those two boards also agree, the city and the developer, Cathartes, would enter into negotiations to produce a much more detailed development agreement that would also have to be approved.

The City Council ceded the oversight role of the waterfront property to the DHA. The CWDAC is a subcommittee of DHA. The current term-sheet agreement CWDAC will consider is the product of negotiations that began after CWDAC selected Cathartes as it preferred developer in June.

The development would be broken into phases to be completed over time. The first phase comes with a guaranteed tax assessment value of $15 million that would be assessed 18 months after the city issues the certificate of occupancy, according to the agreement. The first phase of the development is planned for the area on the south side of Washington Street, where the bluff is being excavated and the skate park is located. The second phase would be on the north side of Washington, which is closer to the Cocheco River.

The city also has obligations as part of the deal. It needs to complete the excavation of the bluff that is underway. It is also tasked with raising the elevation of the project site to plan for sea level rise, complete the shoreline stabilization, create the public park along the waterfront and build out the street with utilities. This work would be paid for through the Waterfront Tax Increment Finance District, which has $6.6 million appropriated, according to the city.

The timeline envisioned by the agreement allows for Cathartes to do its due diligence on the site by Sept. 30, which is also the deadline of when the more detailed development agreement is anticipated. Cathartes is to submit plans to the Planning Board for the first phase of the project by Dec. 31 of this year. Construction is to begin by March 31, 2021.

It's the second time the city has gotten to this phase. About a decade ago, the city had an agreement with Dickinson Development to develop the site. That fell through when Dickinson was unable to secure financing for the $65 million Dover Landing housing and commercial development project. At that time, Dickinson was responsible for all aspects of the development.

CWDAC’s meeting begins at 5 p.m. in Room 305 of the McConnell Center.