PORTSMOUTH — A command post for the town recreation department, a concessions spot for special events, office space to be shared by local organizations and a community meeting area were among the potential uses for the Leonard Brown House that were batted around at a concept design meeting Tuesday night at Town Hall.

Since 2000, the nonprofit Friends of the Brown House has been trying to make a go of transforming the historic farmhouse, which sits on Linden Lane between two special events fields at town-owned Glen Farm, into a community center.

But while the organization has secured several small grants over the years to make piecemeal repairs, it has struggled to attract the bigger awards due to the town’s inability to commit matching funding.

Town leaders have been distracted with more pressing needs, said Council Vice President James Seveney, such as a broken wind turbine, finding a new ferry service for Prudence Island and worrying about the possibility of a “$60 million sewer system.” But now that they’ve cleared some of the bigger issues off their plate, town leaders can focus more attention on the Brown House, he said.

And because public funds will be used toward the renovation work, Town Administrator Richard Rainer said, taxpayers will surely show more interest in the undertaking as well. The town has included $100,000 in this year’s budget for preliminary design work, and plans to invest money in next year’s spending plan so it can go out to bid for renovation work.

Paul E. Attemann from the architecture and design firm the town hired, Union Studio, collected ideas Tuesday that will be incorporated into conceptual drawings. The town is also seeking input from the public.

“It’s a serious commitment,” said Finance and Personnel Director James Lathrop, who along with Mr. Rainer led Tuesday’s meeting. “A hundred thousand dollars is not going to fix that building but it will eventually help get us to the point where we have a goal to move in.”

It was welcome news for Craig Clark and Luke Harding of the Friends of the Brown House, who said the town’s financial commitment will help secure matching grants from groups such as the Champlin Foundation.

“Nothing would make me happier than to get the house finished. It’s been an albatross around our neck,” said Mr. Clark.

The home was built in the mid-1800s and used as a farmhouse for Leonard Brown, who worked as a wheelwright and blacksmith until he acquired his father-in-law’s farm. The farm was purchased by Henry A.C. Taylor in 1902, and the home was used as a support residence for Glen Farm until the early 1950s, when the Taylor family began renting it out as income property. The home remained a rental property until 1988, and the town purchased Glen Farm the following year.

For recreation department

Although the town wants to maintain the Friends’ longtime plan of turning the Brown House into a community center, the building would also serve as the headquarters of the town’s growing recreation department, said Mr. Lathrop, noting the space restraints at Town Hall.

Mr. Rainer agreed. “It’s a natural focal point of what we’re trying to do with the rec department,” he said, noting the building’s proximity to several athletic fields. “I want to grow this into a rec department and eventually a recreation and parks department that will cater to the needs of not only the sports people, but to people who want a community center. The concept is to preserve the character of that building but to keep it functional.”

Tim Dunbar, acting recreation director, said besides serving as the department’s command center, the Brown House could be a meeting place for after-school programs, book clubs, movie nights,  shopping trips and other events. “Recreation doesn’t just have to be sports,” he said.

Rental or no?

The downstairs “L section” of the building, all agreed, would make a fine area for parents to hang out with a cup of coffee while their kids are on the playing field. The first-floor kitchen area, some suggested, could also be rented to outside groups who want to offer concessions, with the town receiving a cut of the profits as well — “There’s a cover charge and there’s a piece of the gate,” Mr. Seveney said.

Likewise, the upstairs will have office space that could be shared among local organizations and/or rented out to outside groups that host multiple-day events at the farm, such as the Beast of the East rugby tournament.

While Mr. Lathrop and Mr. Rainer expressed reservations about turning the Brown House into a rental property, Mr. Harding said the property should pay for itself. “If it can be at least self-supporting, it will make a lot more people happy,” he said.

The third floor needs much work and is not adequate at this time for office space or storage, said Mr. Attemann. The town would also have to make the floor compliant with Americans with Disabilities Act regulations down the road.

Public bathrooms are also part of the plans at the Brown House, so that athletes and spectators will have an alternative to port-o-johns spread out about the fields. “People have been crying for a long time about that,” said Mr. Harding.

The bottom line, said Mr. Clark, is that the Brown House will have no trouble attracting visitors once it’s up and running.

“I think if you build it, they will come,” he said. “There’s so much activity down there. There’s like 4,000 people a week at the Glen.”