City of Portsmouth, New Hampshire, Sues Over McIntyre Application Failure

A week after being unable to make a bid for the McIntyre Building with the National Park Service, the City of Portsmouth has filed a lawsuit against partner SoBow Square.

The 92-page lawsuit filed in Rockingham Superior Court asks the court to find that SoBow Square "committed numerous material breaches of that agreement", which prevented the city from filing the application by March 31.

SoBow Square is accused in the lawsuit of breach of contract, and unfair and deceptive business practices.

The city council will hear public comment at its meeting Monday on the possible purchase of the building from the GSA through its negotiated sale process.

The city missed the deadline to submit an application to buy the building for $1 when both sides could not agree on construction cost estimates and revenue projections in the developer's cost pro format.

Developer Redgate/Kane also agreed to termination rights sought by the city as part of the Development Agreement at the last minute. However, it "adamantly" rejected a profit sharing plan in line with the city's financial contribution to the project, according to Morrell.

Contact reporter Dan Alexander at Dan.Alexander@townsquaremedia.com or via Twitter @DanAlexanderNH