Image by Tangram 3DS | Courtesy of PCA
Developer Sal Lupoli’s grand reimagining of the Hampton Beach Casino finally has the permissions it needs to seek financing and eventually break ground.
The Hampton Planning Board gave its final – and unanimous – OK to the block-sized project just across the New Hampshire state line on Nov. 5.
It’s the latest in a string of large projects from Lawrence-based Lupoli Companies.
Lupoli, his business partners and town officials have each expressed hope the project helps make Hampton Beach a year-round destination while simultaneously revitalizing what had become a somewhat tired anchor for the entire Hampton Beach strip.
“The approved plan and our vision centers on creating a connected mix of new experiences, with a whisp of history for this beloved, historic space,” Lupoli said in a statement provided by PCA, the project’s architecture firm. “We have great respect and a heartfelt connection for the social traditions of the 100-year-old Hampton Beach Casino. We plan to preserve these traditions, while seeing the project evolve to become a year-round destination. Our desire is to see this development benefit the community and neighboring businesses.”
Among the conditions placed on Lupoli’s project: preservation of artifacts connected to the 126-year-old Casino Ballroom’s history, which includes shows by acts as famous as U2.
Lupoli also owns much of the next block to the north, potentially setting up a second phase of the development in the years ahead.
The project will see a 208-room hotel, 99 luxury condominiums, a 52,000-square-foot charitable gaming casino, 38,500 square feet of shops and restaurants and a 732-space garage will rise in a 6-story complex anchored by a 3,500-person concert-and-convention venue.
“When Sal came to us with the challenge to integrate a complex program to combine hospitality, housing, retail, and entertainment spaces into a cohesive design that felt ‘of Hampton Beach,’ we were excited to create a distinctive response to that vision,” PCA principal Dave Snell said in a statement. “Our design focuses on the experience. It prioritizes making places for the action to happen. The energy of the place is on full display, inviting you in to take part.”
The CEO of project engineering consultant TEC, Rick Friberg, told the Portsmouth Herald that demolition of the existing structure could begin as early as summer 2026, with construction taking three years.
Total construction cost is estimated at between $400 million and $600 million.
Image by Tangram 3DS | Courtesy of PCA
