New project at Lilac City Grille site in Rochester hinges on tax relief
ROCHESTER — A new restaurant and eight apartments could fill a downtown void at 103 North Main St. , where the shuttered Lilac City Grille was demolished earlier this year. Norman Vetter, the property owner, is seeking 79-E community revitalization tax relief from the city for the project, which calls for the inclusion of below-market-rate apartments. The proposal received a first reading before the City Council at its Nov. 10 meeting seeking nine years of tax relief, and was advanced to a Dec. 1 public hearing with the council. New Hampshire's 79-E incentive gives developers temporary property tax relief in exchange for developing blighted or historic properties that might otherwise stay vacant. Developers pay taxes based on what the property's assessed value was before the development is built for a negotiated number of years. When the 79-E expires, the owner starts paying taxes based on the property's new increased assessed value. What can residents expect to see at former Lilac City Grille site? Vetter's proposal, according to documents submitted to the city, calls for a 3,000-square-foot restaurant space on the first floor and eight two-bedroom apartments on the second and third floors. The proposal states an unknown number of apartments
