Manchester Infill & Small Developments

[Patrick]

first one is columbus oh. Check out this one. cool
http://www.wildnatureimages.com/I to R/River_Walk_Umbrellas..JPG

 

[Patrick]

san antonio, tx

 

[BostonUrbEx]

That's what the Muddy River would look like if I was mayor.

 

[MonopolyBag]

Those are nice, just nothing like Manchester's style, different style set up.

Dang, with like every city in the Merrimack Valley being near a river, Boston another city, and Boston just lightly touches the tip of what can be done with rivers. Haverhill MA has those boat races and like a nice 100 foot long river walk.

Hooksett has the village near the river, Boston the Charles Park there (which is not going to get finished in our lifetime at this rate, and I am still young)

But it would be nice if the cities of NE, even towns, put a little more thought and effort into design.

I was looking at Denver CO pics, and their city is like cool looking. More attractive to just walk around it looks like.

Portland is nice though... Better than Boston, but Boston has more potential, heck Manchester has more potential. Worcester is just a fail...

Man, even my town of Salem, NH is a fail. Hopefully their plans go through with "The Depot" intersection redevelopment and the Tuscan Village.

Same with Londonderry, that plan we saw a few months ago has potential.

IMO overall Boston is getting better though. More projects have more thoguht put into them.

This may be Confluence Park in Denver CO, or maybe Confluence Park somewhere... that's the parks name. I tried finding a picture of Denver I saw before but couldn't find it again. But this one is cool too.

OK back on track, this is a Manchester thread...

 

[Ron Newman]

I'd look to Providence for a nice example of a New England riverwalk.

 

[Patrick]

Just to clarify, you meant Portland is better than Boston in a waterfront sense? I just want to make sure I understand your confusing comment, which was followed by "heck, manchester has more potential". More potential than what, and in what sense? Thanks in advance for the clarification.

Although I don't claim to be an expert (having only visited once), from what I understand, Lowell, MA is really capitalizing (or planning to capitalize) on their riverfront, with the adoption and implementation of a new form based code and mixed use town center in the old mills along the water. Here's a link:

http://lowellplan.org/sites/default/files/forms/EvolPlanLoRes.pdf

I think of all the previously cities, Lowell is the most relevant example as concerns Manchester. Same geographic area, same type of history, same population base, same metro area.

On a smaller but perhaps still relevant scale, here is what Biddeford, Maine has just approved for their mill district master plan river walk segment:

A conceptual view of the RiverWalk from Mechanics Park to the Mill at Saco Falls.

An aerial view of the RiverWalk as seen from the Saco side of the river.

A view from the plaza looking up river by the historic boiler house.

View of the upper section of the RiverWalk as seen from the Saco side of the river.

Scenic view from the gate at North Dam Mill.

View of the planned pedestrian bridge looking down river from the North Dam Mill.

An aerial view of the RiverWalk looking up river.

View down river from the Mill at Saco Falls.

A view from the start of the RiverWalk at Mechanics Park.

An aerial view of the planned pedestrian bridge connecting the Biddeford and Saco mills.

Views of the planned pedestrian bridge between the Biddeford and Saco mills.

Seating and observation deck at the North Dam Mill.

RiverWalk access at the Mill at Saco Falls.

Downtown Biddeford is heading in the right direction, for the most part. Although they are to some extent repeating the mistakes Portland suffered from in the 1970s relating to suburban shopping centers drawing people away from Main Street (and this time they are even doing it themselves, because the shopping I am referring to, although suburban, is actually located WITHIN the town of Biddeford itself, as opposed to Portland, which had very little say in what South Portland did when it built the Maine Mall).

 

[MonopolyBag]

I'd look to Providence for a nice example of a New England riverwalk.

Oh yeah, I forgot Providence! I haven't been there for years, but hope to in the Spring. Yeah, they do a great job at making stuff nice there, very very nice.


And when I say Portland is better than Boston, I mean IMO it is a bit nicer overall. Proportionally. Boston has great potential, but lacks in keeping it nice. I think Portland does a better job at using what they have and making it nice, both waterfront and just parks / appeal in general. Boston could do a much better job. Manchester has better potential than Portland in terms of what they could do, just as for now, they don't do much. Manchester is bigger and yes, lacking the ocean, but the whole Mill district and river could make a beautiful place to walk, eat lunch, and window shop. Again, ultimately Boston could be best, just I think they could do better.

Now it is a bit confusing with the concepts, that is Biddeford ME? I think it is just because I do not know the names... but those concepts are not Lowell?

I drove through Lowell and took a good look like last month, very very nice. They have made large improvements. Much like Haverhill with apartments mill buildings due to the train to Boston. But very very nice. Downtown has come around and is wicked nice. Many many students walking about probably from UMass and there is some other smaller school there too. But I was surprised. It is nicer than Manchester, Nashua, and Concord.

 

[FrankLloydMike]

You're right that most of the images posted are different than what might develop in Manchester. They're very nice, but the meandering, narrow, nearly street-level waterways are more akin to the canals that Manchester foolishly filled in 35 years ago than to the swift-moving, wide Merrimack. I haven't had much of a chance to look at the Lowell proposals yet, but my guess is that Biddeford may be even more pertinent to Manchester than Lowell, which preserved and has made use of its canal system.

Manchester has done very little so far to tap into the recreational opportunities along the Merrimack, but the potential there is huge. The pedestrian bridge and expanding trail network that ties into it is a great start, and the Riverwalk should really help tie the city to the river in a more meaningful way than currently, which is mostly just as a backdrop. In addition, I think the city would really benefit by either running or trying to attract some group to run recreational boating on the river. Above the Amoskeag falls, this could include passive rowing, kayaking, and even fishing perhaps; below the falls, more advanced rafting and kayaking are possible. People pursue both activities currently, but must do so with their own equipment and by accessing bare-bones boat launches. Kayak rentals in Boston and other cities provide great recreational activities on the water in the middle of the city, and something like this would be great at various points along the Riverwalk.

Because of the nature of the Merrimack and the fact that the Riverwalk will likely be a bit disconnected from the city at several points (where it will be hung from the back side of the mills), it will likely not be suited to the sort of cafes and other gathering spots shown in many of the examples (especially San Antonio). I think a better way of thinking about it is as a recreational walking trail (with a great view) connecting various points of interest along it. These points would include the Rivers Edge park/Elliot, Hands Across the Merrimack bridge, the ballpark, Langer Place artists studios, Arms Park, PSNH Energy Park, which I hope would include an above-the-falls passive boat launch and rental. Between these points, I imagine that the Riverwalk would largely be either hung over the river from the back side of the mills or be in open park spaces.

I'd love to see restaurants, cafes, bars and shops even appear on the ground floor of the mills interlaced between the major destination points. Existing restaurants like Jillian's would hopefully become accessible from the Riverwalk as well as the front side of the mills. In image posted of a walkway hung from a mill, you can see how the ground floor windows, which are currently well above street-level, can easily be converted to doorways. This would be a huge boon in attracting more restaurants to the ground floor of the mills, whose entrances are currently too distant to be walkable. In turn, the addition of restaurants could serve lunch crowds as well as attracting more dinner patrons and bars that could make the Millyard less of a single-use zone that empties out at night.

The most promising area of the Riverwalk in my mind is where the mills step away from the river at and around Arms Park. The Riverwalk is already in place in this area, but it is abutted by parking lots that treat the river-side of the mills at a service area. Converting the parking area to an actual park, expanding UNH Manchester (already in planning) and attracting restaurants along Mungall and Stark Streets could really transform that section of the Millyard. It's easy to imagine tables and outdoor dining along those streets and the Riverwalk, festivals and concerts in Arms Park, and students, workers, diners and someday residents mingling day and night in the area.

It also helps that the city's secondary site for an intermodal transit center is at the Bedford Street parking lot (I believe), which is just across Commercial Street from Arms Park. Within the Market Basket going in at the previously planned transit site, the use of this site is increasingly likely, and would include a parking structure that would help offset the loss of parking in Arms Park. A re-imagined Arms Park as the centerpiece of a larger Riverwalk would also make for a very inviting gateway to the city for commuters and visitors, as well as a natural gathering spot at a municipal and regional transit hub.

edit: I just drew up a quick Google map illustrating the points above.

 

[FrankLloydMike]

On a separate note, the Union Leader has an update on the renovation to the Hillsborough County Superior Courthouse, which will make a much nicer backdrop to Veterans Park:

Hillsborough County Superior Court North from Veterans Park, before, top, and after. (THOMAS ROY)

Courthouse upgrade on schedule, under budget
MANCHESTER ? Reconstruction of Hillsborough-North Superior Court is on schedule and under budget, according to project managers.

With the passing of each day, the old courthouse on Chestnut Street, which was gutted early this year and had extensive asbestos removed by July, looks less and less like a giant, steel shell.

The project, scheduled to be finished by July 1, is being funded through $17 million the state appropriated in 2009 to cover everything from asbestos abatement to exterior landscaping.

Construction crews are working on numerous parts of the building, from the roof to plumbing, said Jeff Shute, project manager with the Bureau of Public Works, state Department of Administrative Services.

"It'll look very different from the way it was," he said.

The Superior Court operations packed up and shipped out late last year for an 18-month relocation to Hillsborough-South in Nashua.

Separate operations at the Spring Street courthouse in Nashua resumed Jan. 4.

The Chestnut Street courthouse, which first opened in 1969, will have at least six courtrooms, greater public access to business offices and windows, and better security, including a sally port for law enforcement officers to deliver and pick up court patrons who require security escort.

Project managers aim to achieve the highest rating possible through LEED certification, a rating program of the nonprofit U.S. Green Building Council. LEED stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design.

Salvaging and reusing parts of the old courthouse were central to that effort, said Stephen Lorentzen, administrator of the Bureau of Court Facilities within the New Hampshire Department of Administrative Services.

Another component for LEED is the use of natural light; renderings of the building show courtrooms with skylighting.

Lorentzen said the renovation is designed to make the courthouse as energy-efficient as possible.

"We've made significant progress on the work completed to date," Lorentzen said. "There's a lot of stuff happening simultaneously."

John Harper, project manager for Lavallee Brensinger Architects, said nearly 100 tons of materials have been removed from the building to date for recycling and salvage. Of that, an estimated 95 percent or greater was diverted from landfills or incineration, or repurposed for use by others.

Some of the materials have gone back into the courthouse renovation, such as granite panels to be reused, in part, for a public plaza along Chestnut Street.

Other features include waterless urinals, electronic faucets powered by 30-year energy cells, regional wood materials from managed forests and sensors that turn off lights in unoccupied rooms.

Technology improvements, which feature up-to-date wiring for media outlets, include modern X-ray, magnetometer and scanning checkpoints, and enhanced emergency exits and fire protection systems, according to Lavallee Brensinger Architects.

 

[MonopolyBag]

All true, you kind of contradict yourself when you state that restaurants along the river walk would not happen really, then you say it would. I saw some PDF studies and stuff that I no longer can find online on Manchester's site, one on the parks, the other on something else mentioning the river walk, may have been the same one. But they had a concept drawn up of arms park, and got rid of 90% of parking as the street provides enough for students and there are many parking pales in the mills, and there was a water fountain where the stairs are now, and much more grass and tree instead of parking. The river walk was mentioned and said that cafes and other food places that open can have seating outside, this would be along where the river walk would basically be right alongside the mills since the mills are the only thing next to the river at some points. I see the entire river walk as being a way to get people down there and use it as a park, potential shops will open at some parts, and how you said the river walk will lead you away form the city at points, it will serve as a get away as well. So all different levels there. Manchester want's to make it go the whole length, connecting the Herritage trail through Manchester. So along the entire river in Manchester.

I didn't know spot two for the transit center potential was that parking lot, if it is, MUCH better than the market Basket as this would also serve as a good Mill connector and the other place wouldn't so much. But with hopefully improved bus routes, and maybe that foreign concept of bike racks, as well as the already good down town sidewalks, it still connects easily with the future gaslight district and southern Elm st.

And I HATE those parking lots, being a single concrete lot that only so many cars can park in and they charge you a lot. Just hate them. build a parking garage there, or a building, or both.

Now far far into the future, they gotta some how connect Second St. to the East side/Center of Manchester for walkers, bikers, and so on. I know the foot bridge is a HUGE improvement, but they need more incentive, like maybe another 2 foot bridges.

I went last night to Manchester for the CHaD Palace Theatre Warren Miller movie thing. I noticed the court, still no walls, but making progress. yeah I have seen some concept drawing son them before, a MUCH NEEDED improvement. Inside and out.

They got Christmas lights up finally! Now if they had a river walk, would Christmas lights go up along there? That would be cool.

 

[FrankLloydMike]

I was sort of rambling there--definitely helps to proof read... what I meant to say is that I can definitely see restaurants and stuff along the Arms Park area, and I would hope the existing restaurants like Jillian's would tie into it. Once it's been in place for awhile, I can potentially see a few cafes popping up on the back sides of the mills, but I'm still not sure it would ever be viable. Even if not, like you said it would be a get away along those areas.

I wish I could remember where I read about the secondary transit center site being at the Bedford Street lot.

Another point that I want to make regarding all of this--the parking lots downtown that should be parks or developments, the need for an improved bus system, creating and supporting walkable neighborhoods--is that while Manchester has done a great job in certain aspects of redevelopment lately, the City has lagged far behind others like Portland and Lowell in committing to or at least studying mass transit improvements. Reading the Portland Peninsula Transit Study (especially chapter 6) or the transit chapter in the previously linked Lowell Downtown Evolution Plan, it's clear that Manchester's city government, the state and the Southern New Hampshire Planning Commission need to work together to study a comprehensive, regional and city transit system. It's unfair and impractical to put all the responsibility on the City or on the eternally cash-strapped MTA, but the infrequent service and lack of comprehensive planning have led to a system of need with very few (if any) riders of choice. This will badly hurt Manchester's ability to attract new residents and employers in the future, as well as clearly leading to more sprawl and less urban density.

 

[MonopolyBag]

The view of the water on a raised walkway along a mill is somewhere I would like to eat as I bet many would. And this is an attraction for restaurants as it is a good place to attract people.

MTA, as I think we discussed earlier, should become regional like the MBTA and MVRTA. It would be ideal for the current MTA to hook up and connect with local towns like Bedford, Hooksett, and Londonderry.

 

[MonopolyBag]

You may know, but I came across some group the other day, I forget how I got there and can not find it again, so pissed. But it is basically a group that tries to pull together all the local towns and Manchester. I was reading about some historical path that they need a web site built for them. It goes through a few towns including Goffstown. But something like this, a group, would be the ones to maybe help begin the thought about regional transport? Or would it be the state?

 

[FrankLloydMike]

I just listened to an edition of the Exchange from last week about transportation in New Hampshire. It was not specific to Manchester, and many of the concerns about low population density, etc is less pertinent to southeastern New Hampshire than to the rest of the state, but the discussion is still interesting and promising.

As far as the group you're thinking of, it could be the Southern New Hampshire Planning Commission, a governmental regional planning and coordination group, which in my mind should have greater power than the local planning boards. Their website leaves a lot to be desired, but I believe they have some involvement with the MTA and have studied/proposed studies for a regional transit agency. The problem is that the regional planning commissions need to be empowered by the state to do less coordinating of local planning boards and more regional planning. Counties are essentially meaningless in New Hampshire, so I'd like to see the regional planning commissions have greater responsibilities, elected officials, and the ability to raise and appropriate regional taxes and funds. I don't expect to see much help in that regard, let alone financially from the incoming legislature. Still, the elected and planning officials of even heavily Republican towns like Bedford support better regional transit and walkable communities now, so this should not be a political issue. My sense is that Manchester and the other towns (particularly the direct suburbs of Bedford, Londonderry, Derry, Hooksett and Goffstown) need to work together and voluntarily shift more responsibility to the SNHPC (in tough budgetary times, such consolidation is also more efficient) for planning of both land use and transit. I'm not sure if regional transit planning should fall to a regional planning commission or the state, but either way at this point it will take a concerted local effort to get there. I have no idea where Gatsas stands on the matter, but he could be instrumental in leading the effort, which he could reasonably and honestly sell as an economic development tool.

 

[MonopolyBag]

Yes that is the group.

Counties wouldn't work in NH cuz their borders are not set up with the thought of a central city/town. Like Manchester borders Rockingham County.

 

[pel_north]

The new Eliot Hospital building on Queen City Ave is coming along nicely. There are blue lights that are lighting top of the building. It looks very nice.

 

[MonopolyBag]

Any news on NH rail?

 

[FrankLloydMike]

It's not the best website, but the New Hampshire Rail Transit Authority (NHRTA) seems to be the best place for up-to-date information. It's a bit of a pain, but you can get a good deal of information from their meeting minutes. The latest minutes posted, from November, discuss the grant received to study and design (I believe) the Capital Corridor.

One of the members of NHRTA, or at least someone frequently a member in the discussions at their meetings is Jay Minkarah, the director of Manchester Economic Development Office (MEDO), which is a good sign. You might want to write your state reps in support of NHRTA, as at least one bill has been proposed in the legislature to repeal the NHRTA. I have no idea what the odds of its passage will be, but this is going to be a tough couple of years as far as trying to get appropriate funding for positive development and transit in New Hampshire. Legislators are going to need to hear from constituents that they support initiatives like this.

 

[FrankLloydMike]

Just an update on the Mill West apartments, which are being developed in the giant old mill building on the West Side just south of Notre Dame Bridge:

From NHPR:

In an era of foreclosures and uncertain home prices, an increasing number of people have been renting rather than buying new homes.
In Manchester, developers are responding to that trend by building or renovating hundreds of new apartments.
And as NHPR Correspondent Ellen Grimm has discovered, those developers are expecting to attract more well-heeled tenants.
Arthur Sullivan is standing in a cavernous space in a 130 year-old mill building on the city's west side.
We?re in that massive building called Mill West across from Catholic Medical Center.
The windows are about ten feet tall and the walls are brick.
To the east, you can see the Merrimack river, the downtown skyline, and a hint of the interstate.
Sullivan is planning about 200 apartments on the building?s four floors.
Sullivan: And they'll be about 1,000 square feet each. And they'll have the unique features that a mill-type loft would have -- all sandblasted and hardwood floors. These floors will actually be refinished to add to the character of the nits.
The project is expected to cost around $24 million.
Across the way is a low-rise building that once served as a cotton warehouse.
Sullivan plans to turn that into another 87 apartments.
Sullivan is a partner in Brady Sullivan Properties.
Originally, he had planned to sell the space as condos.
But, given the weak housing market, Sullivan decided to rent them out.
The two bedroom Mill West units will go for about 1200 dollars a month. That's 20 percent higher than the median rent for similar-sized apartments in the city.
Sullivan: I think you have a lot of people that normally would be probably entry- market people into new housing who are saying, 'Geez, I don't know if it's the right time; I don't know if the market has bottomed out.' And they'll gravitate to higher-end unique type of apartments we have at the Mill.
Another large group of renters, he says, are people who have lost their homes to foreclosure.
Sullivan?s not alone in turning to the rental market.
According to a 2010 study by Harvard?s Joint Center for Housing Studies, the number of renter households increased nearly 10 percent, that?s an increase of 3.4 million, between 2004 and 2009.
In south Manchester, meanwhile, 6 buildings with 195 high-end apartments are in their early stages.
Manchester planner Jonathan Golden calls it ?sort of a boom? in apartment construction.
Golden: I think it's replacing the potential subdivisions and single-family lots that normally probably would have been occurring. You also have to think that buildable land in the city is starting to diminish.
Jane Law is with the New Hampshire Housing Finance Authority.
Law says unlike the housing market, rentals have been stable.
Law: You would think that if it's just the economy, that the rental costs would go down because of lack of ability of people to pay those market rents, but the fact that they are still static, while for-sale homes, the prices of those have gone down, it's kind of indicative to us that there is demand for rentals. And we haven't seen vacancy rates rise either.
Jay Minkarah is Manchester's economic development director.
Minkarah: Where we're seeing most of the interest is in moderate to higher end rental. The kind of housing that, in particular, would say appeal to young professionals.
As for why some people with means aren't buying homes, he says, one reason might be that they haven't yet established their credit record.
And lending standards are tougher.
Minkarah: The other is, you know, the uncertainty: Well, yes, I've got a good job now and I've got a good income, but will I, or will my spouse, three months from now or six months from now, so that can cause people hesistation.
In Nashua, developers are not moving so quickly.
The City?s economic development director Tom Galligani says some builders are also looking into developing rental properties.
But they're hestitating.
Galligani: A lot of them have explained to us fairly succinctly that the economy is still struggling, the rental market is getting stronger they perceive in the Greater Boston area and all the way up here to Nashua and they feel it's time for getting the projects ready so that when the market does really strenghthen and really starts to climb out of the doldroms they'll have a project that'll be ready to go.
In Manchester, though, confidence is high.
The last phase of the Mill West project goes before the planning board on January 6.
Sullivan expects to start filling apartments by the middle of 2011.
And, when people are ready to buy again, he says, all those rentals can be turned into condos.
For NHPR News in Manchester, I'm Ellen Grimm.

The image is from the NHPR website, looking at Mill West and where the Notre-Dame neighborhood used to be from downtown. It gives a good perspective of how enormous the building is (I remember when it had batting cages in it in the 1990s, among other things). You can also see the low, long, white building across the street, which now houses a Rite-Aid, state liquor store, and formerly a Vista Foods. This should be a prime redevelopment site. Along with most of CMC (to the left) and the Pariseau High-rise (beige building to the right), this shopping center sits on what was once a vibrant, dense neighborhood. Now a half-empty plaza with huge parking lots on either side of McGregor Street, it should hopefully one day see a mixed-use redevelopment to restore it to some sort of neighborhood. Hopefully the Mill West apartments will help provide the mass of people needed for something like this; surely people living in that building would rather have coffee shops and restaurants across the street than a Rite-Aid parking lot.

edit: Here's a better image of the Rite-Aid plaza, along with recent CMC buildings and expansions that create the beginnings of a strong street wall there. In the top you can see a corner of Lafayette Park, a beautiful spot n front of St. Marie's with great views of downtown that is just begging to have a dense, mixed-use neighborhood/development at its foot instead of the back of a bad, 1960s shopping mall:

 

[Portlander]

If Manchester could stand the Brady Sullivan Millworks on it's end it would at least be the tallest building in New England if not the country. The length of that mill is crazy!