There were concerns about the gap in the copper paneling near the entrance to the garage near the corner of Pearl Street and North Church Street. (Screenshot/MPTV)
MANCHESTER, N.H. – Confusion over an unannounced architectural change to an upcoming municipal garage connected to the upcoming Pearl affordable housing complex seem to be on its way to resolution following a discussion at the Aug. 20, 2026 Manchester Planning Board meeting.
John O’Brien from Build Form Architects came before the board with Tom Burns of T.F. Moran and Marc Jobin of Jobin Consultants as part of a continuation of a compliance hearing earlier in the month. The compliance hearing was made necessary after city officials discovered in July that the architectural plans for the garage were no longer the plans that had been approved by the Planning Board after obstacles in material costs necessitated unexpected design changes.
Instead of going back to the original design, O’Brien presented three options for the exterior of the garage in the hopes of finding a solution that would meet aesthetic expectations for what will be a key part of the city’s downtown landscape in future years while also keeping the project within its budget.
The first option would use zinc-covered aluminum and wire red copper panels to emphasize the garage’s brick corners and provide emphasis to the building’s façade. Other panels on the garage would have a non-shiny, mica finish.
The second option presented is almost identical to the first option, only with different array of the copper and mica panels, with less of an emphasis on the garage’s brick corner.
The third option again uses a mix of the metallic mica finish and wire red copper panels, but here the copper would be on lower floors to anchor the entrance, with the mica on higher floors, although the copper panels do not extend all the way down North Church Street.
Top to Bottom – Options A, B and C as seen from the corner of Pearl and North Church Streets.
Aldermanic Planning Board Representative Bryce Kaw-uh said that he would be partial to the third option if the copper panels could go all the way down North Church Street, with O’Brien said that could be achieved. Planning Board Member Peter Winslow also preferred the third option, with the panel of experts also saying that they preferred the third option as well.
Later, Kaw-uh said that he would be fine with the small gap of no copper panels if cost became a concern.
All three options provided hydrangea plants and 10-to-15-foot oak trees that would be placed near the edge of the garage in a grassy area along North Church Street. When asked why the trees would be in that grassy area and not closer to the street, the experts indicated that placing the trees closer to the street could obstruct sidewalk plows in winter months. Additionally, electrical infrastructure underneath the sidewalk in that area made further digging for tree planting undesirable.
O’Brien also indicated that the options would provide a 20-year warranty for the copper areas and the mica-finished areas would have a five-year warranty.
Jobin said that these changes would not significantly change the cost of the project and that the headlight screening made of a mesh lining requested last July would be the key driver in likely changes from the original expected cost, with options for headlight screening still under investigation.
From left: Marc Jobin, John O’Brien and Tom Burns talk about metal panels for the upcoming Pearl Garage. (Screenshot/MPTV)
Planning Board Vice Chair Bob Gagne was not in attendance, but had submitted questions about the cost of the screening material and Department of Public Works feedback on the changes. As answers to those questions were not immediately available, the hearing was continued to the board’s next meeting in September.
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