Manchester Infill & Small Developments

I've split this into two posts, because it was getting really long...

Manchester has already come a LONG way from the early 1990s. I think regional planning would be very important to Manchester's success, too, moreso than in other cities, because of its situation and proximity to Boston. The key is to prevent people from working in the myriad other job centers of the region. Become a net and catch workers and residents who might otherwise live elsewhere. The key to this, I think, is transportation planning. some BRT and/or commuter rail directly into manchester from its surrounding communities would be a great idea. Again, the feasibility is another story. I don't know, but I know manchester has a lot of potential just waiting to be tapped by someone with the right amount of foresight (as some already have in recent years). The airport would make the city a great place to have a convention center.
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I completely agree--except the airport part--I think the idea should be to get people to arrive at the airport, easily get into town and spend time there. Manchester has come a long way in the past decade-and-a-half. I was a bit too young and didn't spend enough time downtown to remember it when it was really struggling, but I remember being able to see the Verizon Arena going up across the river from my high school, and beginning to spend time in downtown restaurants, coffee shops, diners and eventually bars.

My girlfriend (from CT) and I were in town last weekend for a wedding, and it was great to see some of the things that have been happening in the past few months (and years). Not much in the way of new development, except for the NHIA and some others, but more and better restaurants and other smaller improvements seem to be coming around. We had dinner on Elm Street, watching the sunset over the Millyard and Uncanoonucs, then walked around a bit and down to Milly's brewpub, which was recently redone (I'd love to see some outdoor seating by the river as well as development of neighboring Arms Park). The next day we returned for lunch, browsing the Currier and the Amoskeag Fishways. She said that with some of the recent improvement, it's the most she's ever enjoyed Manchester, and it was great to share the growth of a city I love with someone who has never lived there. While Manchester's location isn't as quite as picturesque as Portland's, the history and beauty of the Merrimack, the Millyard and surrounding (and mostly undeveloped) hills is a real asset.

In the past few decades, Manchester has done a great job of embracing and promoting its industrial past--the (incomplete) Riverwalk, the Millyard Museum, Energy Park, and so on, and more recently its embraced more of the arts with the rapidly expanding NHIA, the Currier expansion, the Langer Place mill. It's also very recently begun to see the emergence of a hipper urban scene with many of the new restaurants, which will be key in attracting and retaining young professionals, a group the city and state lose more of than they attract currently. A lot of these scenes complement each other nicely, but one that the city could really build on is a focus on the outdoors and recreation. With the river, Massabesic and the surrounding hills, there's quite a bit of untapped potential without even going to the Lakes Region or mountains--building on this would also help attract young people. Manchester Moves seems to be one group that's really working on this.
 
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As far as regional planning goes, I've heard (but seen no details) of a study by the Southern New Hampshire Regional Planning Commission (SNHRPC) to create a regional public transit system. This would be a great idea in taking the burden off Manchester, expanding transit beyond a need-based population and promoting the city as a better regional jobs center. While a greater percentage of people from greater Portland and Burlington commute to work in those cities than greater Manchester, I think Manchester could see this as an opportunity in a way. Aside from the significant sprawl along I-93 and Route 3, the towns around Manchester are relatively undeveloped, so a transit system would have less land area to deal with, and with a good in-city transit system, Manchester would be positioned to attract young professionals to live in the city rather than surrounding communities. There?s plenty of sprawl to the south along I-93 and to the west in Bedford a bit, but there?s a huge potential to build on the density in the city center and surrounding neighborhoods while preserving open space around the city. In the long run, Manchester's lack of commuter towns could be to its benefit if it builds up density and transit within the city, plus some transit to surrounding towns.

This is almost entirely anecdotally based, but this is how I'd like to a see a transit system--and the accompanying increased density and land use policy changes--develop in Manchester:

1. Commuter rail service from downtown to Nashua, Concord and Boston (eventually Amtrak to Montreal).
2. A streetcar loop through downtown and the Millyard similar to the downtown circulator bus to service workers and residents of the city center, plus commuter lots/garages at the downtown station and near off-ramps to reduce downtown parking and promote transit use.
3. Eventually expand streetcar spurs to Granite Square and Kelley Street on the West Side, and a connecting loop line through the East Side to the Currier and the Hollow neighborhood. These lines would serve Manchester's most densely-populated neighborhoods, and promote redevelopment (obviously gentrification would be a double-edged sword). If these were completed, the city could drastically reduce its inefficient bus system.
4. Possibly expand a Granite Street line to a commuter lot/garage in Bedford--either Bedford Center, which would be able to pick up commuters from Amherst, etc, or along South River Road, which would connect the city to some of the retail centers there and provide TOD redevelopment to the dying Bedford Mall.
5. Possibly begin BRT/commuter rail service down the transit ROW in the widened I-93. I could be wrong about this, but my guess is that towns like Bedford and Londonderry have more commuters to Manchester than Salem, etc, so a more feasible option may be to have people drive to commuter transit centers on the outskirts of the city.

Obviously, this is a bit far-fetched at the moment and dreamt up with little regard to cost or feasibility, but I agree with Patrick that the key to continued renewal in Manchester is good transportation planning. In the short term, the MTA bus system needs improvement (some of which it is getting, but needs greater support from the city and region). I think the city's future depends on vastly improved public transit and related development as transit makes a resurgence, and both young professionals and retirees (not to mention those without the means to drive) continue to show a preference for living in denser, more transit-oriented cities. Buses don't seem to be able to provide the same density, ridership and enthusiasm, nor support the same density and redevelopment as streetcars and light rail, however. As other similarly-sized cities look to streetcars, I don't think it's too unreasonable to imagine a system something like this in Manchester's not-too-distant future as both a way to promote greater redevelopment of the city and a huge improvement in the quality of life of its residents.
 
I just wanted to post a map I made of the very hypothetical transit system I envisioned in the last post.

I'd love to hear what others think of this, and I'd love to see streetcars (and trolleybuses, BRT, etc where that makes more sense) continue expanding to more cities in the US[/URL].

In the meantime, I think it's great to see the MTA working to improve and expand service, first by equipping all buses with bike racks, then introducing the Downtown/Millyard Circulator, and now successfully petitioning the DOT for funding for a Health Care Circulator. These are all great steps, and it seems like the MTA is doing a lot with the limited funding it gets from the City, and planning for future expansion of services. If they could get more support from the city, the surrounding towns and the state, I think they could really achieve the sort of system that would attract riders by choice, not just necessity, and we'd see the sort of density and redevelopment that has still eluded Manchester. They'd also be eligible for funding for expanded bus services, trolleybuses, streetcars and commuter rail/BRT through DOT's Livability program.
 
FrankLloydMike said:
I've split this into two posts, because it was getting really long...



I completely agree--except the airport part--I think the idea should be to get people to arrive at the airport, easily get into town and spend time there. Manchester has come a long way in the past decade-and-a-half. I was a bit too young and didn't spend enough time downtown to remember it when it was really struggling, but I remember being able to see the Verizon Arena going up across the river from my high school, and beginning to spend time in downtown restaurants, coffee shops, diners and eventually bars.

My girlfriend (from CT) and I were in town last weekend for a wedding, and it was great to see some of the things that have been happening in the past few months (and years). Not much in the way of new development, except for the NHIA and some others, but more and better restaurants and other smaller improvements seem to be coming around. We had dinner on Elm Street, watching the sunset over the Millyard and Uncanoonucs, then walked around a bit and down to Milly's brewpub, which was recently redone (I'd love to see some outdoor seating by the river as well as development of neighboring Arms Park). The next day we returned for lunch, browsing the Currier and the Amoskeag Fishways. She said that with some of the recent improvement, it's the most she's ever enjoyed Manchester, and it was great to share the growth of a city I love with someone who has never lived there. While Manchester's location isn't as quite as picturesque as Portland's, the history and beauty of the Merrimack, the Millyard and surrounding (and mostly undeveloped) hills is a real asset.

In the past few decades, Manchester has done a great job of embracing and promoting its industrial past--the (incomplete) Riverwalk, the Millyard Museum, Energy Park, and so on, and more recently its embraced more of the arts with the rapidly expanding NHIA, the Currier expansion, the Langer Place mill. It's also very recently begun to see the emergence of a hipper urban scene with many of the new restaurants, which will be key in attracting and retaining young professionals, a group the city and state lose more of than they attract currently. A lot of these scenes complement each other nicely, but one that the city could really build on is a focus on the outdoors and recreation. With the river, Massabesic and the surrounding hills, there's quite a bit of untapped potential without even going to the Lakes Region or mountains--building on this would also help attract young people. Manchester Moves seems to be one group that's really working on this.
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All excellent points. The millyard leggo museum is awesome. Restaurants are key (as yuppies seem to prefer a good selection). Portland may have scenery, but none of it is downtown, so I think there is hope for Manchester, for exactly the reasons you mentioned. It really should build on its strengths. Exeter did a great job of embracing the river.
 
FrankLloydMike said:
As far as regional planning goes, I've heard (but seen no details) of a study by the Southern New Hampshire Regional Planning Commission (SNHRPC) to create a regional public transit system. This would be a great idea in taking the burden off Manchester, expanding transit beyond a need-based population and promoting the city as a better regional jobs center. While a greater percentage of people from greater Portland and Burlington commute to work in those cities than greater Manchester, I think Manchester could see this as an opportunity in a way. Aside from the significant sprawl along I-93 and Route 3, the towns around Manchester are relatively undeveloped, so a transit system would have less land area to deal with, and with a good in-city transit system, Manchester would be positioned to attract young professionals to live in the city rather than surrounding communities. There?s plenty of sprawl to the south along I-93 and to the west in Bedford a bit, but there?s a huge potential to build on the density in the city center and surrounding neighborhoods while preserving open space around the city. In the long run, Manchester's lack of commuter towns could be to its benefit if it builds up density and transit within the city, plus some transit to surrounding towns.

This is almost entirely anecdotally based, but this is how I'd like to a see a transit system--and the accompanying increased density and land use policy changes--develop in Manchester:

1. Commuter rail service from downtown to Nashua, Concord and Boston (eventually Amtrak to Montreal).
2. A streetcar loop through downtown and the Millyard similar to the downtown circulator bus to service workers and residents of the city center, plus commuter lots/garages at the downtown station and near off-ramps to reduce downtown parking and promote transit use.
3. Eventually expand streetcar spurs to Granite Square and Kelley Street on the West Side, and a connecting loop line through the East Side to the Currier and the Hollow neighborhood. These lines would serve Manchester's most densely-populated neighborhoods, and promote redevelopment (obviously gentrification would be a double-edged sword). If these were completed, the city could drastically reduce its inefficient bus system.
4. Possibly expand a Granite Street line to a commuter lot/garage in Bedford--either Bedford Center, which would be able to pick up commuters from Amherst, etc, or along South River Road, which would connect the city to some of the retail centers there and provide TOD redevelopment to the dying Bedford Mall.
5. Possibly begin BRT/commuter rail service down the transit ROW in the widened I-93. I could be wrong about this, but my guess is that towns like Bedford and Londonderry have more commuters to Manchester than Salem, etc, so a more feasible option may be to have people drive to commuter transit centers on the outskirts of the city.

Obviously, this is a bit far-fetched at the moment and dreamt up with little regard to cost or feasibility, but I agree with Patrick that the key to continued renewal in Manchester is good transportation planning. In the short term, the MTA bus system needs improvement (some of which it is getting, but needs greater support from the city and region). I think the city's future depends on vastly improved public transit and related development as transit makes a resurgence, and both young professionals and retirees (not to mention those without the means to drive) continue to show a preference for living in denser, more transit-oriented cities. Buses don't seem to be able to provide the same density, ridership and enthusiasm, nor support the same density and redevelopment as streetcars and light rail, however. As other similarly-sized cities look to streetcars, I don't think it's too unreasonable to imagine a system something like this in Manchester's not-too-distant future as both a way to promote greater redevelopment of the city and a huge improvement in the quality of life of its residents.
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I couldn't agree more with everything you have written in your recent posts. Have you ever thought of pursuing urban planning as a career? There are currently plenty of positions open in the SNH RPC office (or there were a few weeks ago). As the price of other transportation and cost (as in environmental) continues to climb, I predict cities will be turning more toward the direction you envision for Manchester. It would be nice if you could sort of grease the wheels a bit in that regard and get things moving a bit faster. Perhaps you were the "someone with the right amount of foresight" I mentioned in a previous post?

I think Manchester is just waiting to explode with urban vibrancy (and to an extent already has a fair share). It just needs dedicated residents to make it happen. To capitalize on Brady Sullivan's investments around town (and other entrepreneurs) would be a key step in my opinion. Attract at least one major high tech employer that will circulate downtown employees, and the spin off effects won't have to be planned--they'll just happen. I'm glad you agree transportation planning is integral to the future of Manchester, as I think it is just about everywhere. Land use patterns follow transportation very closely.
 
Patrick said:
I couldn't agree more with everything you have written in your recent posts. Have you ever thought of pursuing urban planning as a career? There are currently plenty of positions open in the SNH RPC office (or there were a few weeks ago). As the price of other transportation and cost (as in environmental) continues to climb, I predict cities will be turning more toward the direction you envision for Manchester. It would be nice if you could sort of grease the wheels a bit in that regard and get things moving a bit faster. Perhaps you were the "someone with the right amount of foresight" I mentioned in a previous post?

I think Manchester is just waiting to explode with urban vibrancy (and to an extent already has a fair share). It just needs dedicated residents to make it happen. To capitalize on Brady Sullivan's investments around town (and other entrepreneurs) would be a key step in my opinion. Attract at least one major high tech employer that will circulate downtown employees, and the spin off effects won't have to be planned--they'll just happen. I'm glad you agree transportation planning is integral to the future of Manchester, as I think it is just about everywhere. Land use patterns follow transportation very closely.
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Well, I have an architecture degree and I'm working as an intern architect in Boston now, so not urban planning, but a closely (sometimes not closely enough) related field. I've had an interest in buildings and cities since childhood, and going to school and living in Boston really helped me see how different things lead to good and bad built environments. Looking back, I wish I'd spent a bit more time in some urban planning electives. I'm not looking to go back to school at the moment, but I am definitely interested in urban planning and policy as someone in a related field, I guess. For all the reasons mentioned before about why smaller and mid-sized cities are more excited in terms of redevelopment, and because of the amount of time needed for a larger city, I don't see myself volunteering on a planning board or anything here in the short term. If I were to move, somewhat permanently at least, to a city like Portland or Manchester, I'd definitely consider it more seriously--it seems easier to make inroads in smaller cities and the work that volunteers do seems more productive.

I'd be really happy to be considered a former resident with foresight on Manchester, but I don't see myself living there, at least in the short term. My girlfriend is in grad school down here and I have a job at the moment and we're enjoying it, so it would be a hard sell for both me and her. Still, the idea of being involved in the improvement of a mid-size city (Manchester or Portland, which I know much less about but also really like) would be very exciting in a way that my work now is not... all things to consider, I guess. For now, I'm really enjoying commenting and discussing things as an outsider rather than an activist of any sort.

As far as the other comments--I think they're starting to come about: the trail system is coming together, more restaurants (which as a yuppie by definition, I do enjoy!) are popping up in Manchester, and you're right that if someone/something can attract some downtown residents, the rest should follow naturally. Manchester and Portland are both fortunate to have some beautiful architecture in their city centers--the Old Port and Millyard respectively, and both have downtown waterfronts of varying sorts, but Portland seems to have connected to its natural attractions farther out, like the East End Beach, a bit better. If Manchester can get the Riverwalk finished, maybe attract a kayaking rental place or something else down there, the waterfront could really come alive. Once outdoor enthusiasts see it as a destination, maybe a residence, and residents begin to enjoy it, greater interest in more outlying outdoor destinations could follow, too, I think.
 
all very good points. I am kind of the inverse of you. I have schooling in urban planning (one year left in a master's degree) but at one time I really considered Architecture. Toured BAC and everything. That was in 2001-2002. I still visit it every time I'm in Boston to see what the students' displays look like and see what else the school is up to. Instead, I went to a school where there was no architecture option, and it was right after September 11, so political issues were hot. Ended up in Poli Sci. If you ever find out what someone can do with an undergrad degree in that, please do tell. I completely understand your want to stay in Boston for the time being, and can't blame you one bit. However, I do see a return to the city so to speak in Manchester's future, and perhaps once you settle down in a place outside of a major city, whether it is Manchester or elsewhere, then you can get involved to a greater degree. I know what you mean about having more of an influence in a smaller city, and totally agree. And speaking of smaller cities, you are also right about Portland capitalizing on outlying areas like the east end beach. That used to be totally underutilized until the eastern promenade walking trail was constructed (a new addition to which was recently completed), and the city is attempting something similar with another promenade at the moment in a currently underutilized district. Walking trails are good for people. people are good for cities. Kayaking sounds great, too. Great ideas.
 
FrankLloydMike said:
I just wanted to post a map I made of the very hypothetical transit system I envisioned in the last post.

I'd love to hear what others think of this, and I'd love to see streetcars (and trolleybuses, BRT, etc where that makes more sense) continue expanding to more cities in the US[/URL].

In the meantime, I think it's great to see the MTA working to improve and expand service, first by equipping all buses with bike racks, then introducing the Downtown/Millyard Circulator, and now successfully petitioning the DOT for funding for a Health Care Circulator. These are all great steps, and it seems like the MTA is doing a lot with the limited funding it gets from the City, and planning for future expansion of services. If they could get more support from the city, the surrounding towns and the state, I think they could really achieve the sort of system that would attract riders by choice, not just necessity, and we'd see the sort of density and redevelopment that has still eluded Manchester. They'd also be eligible for funding for expanded bus services, trolleybuses, streetcars and commuter rail/BRT through DOT's Livability program.
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Thumbs up on street car map.
 
Thanks! Given the increased funding for streetcars and public transit in general, and the growing preference for using it or at least living in neighborhoods where it's available, I'd say it's not out of the question in Manchester's future.

Not that it's big development news, either, but I just found a website for the West Granite neighborhood recently detailing the NeighborWorks group's revitalization efforts there. Dense neighborhoods close to the city center like this have a huge potential to be great diverse, mixed-income communities with their own identities but connected to each other and to downtown via good public transit, so I think community-led and involved efforts like this are essential to getting there.

I also found this CarrotMob site currently focusing on bringing attention to local businesses in Rimmon Heights. It's run by the same guy as the very nice Fortress Manchester website, and again though not a new development or anything, I think this investment in local businesses in a dense neighborhood so close to downtown bodes well for future development.

I know there was some criticism of it when it came out, and it's seems to have stalled a bit since then, but the initiative to give the city's neighborhoods greater individual identity and foster micro-communities is a great idea and key to making the city a better place. The idea of a connection of neighborhoods around and focused on the downtown, but with their own shops, residences, feels and communities is part of what makes most cities great place to live and explore.

It's hard to tell and I doubt he'll be as much of a visionary as Baines, but so far Gatsas seems like a huge improvement over Guinta. Guinta seemed to start things like the neighborhood initiatives but never take them anywhere, if he started them at all. My sense, and this could just be cynicism and political difference on my part, is that Guinta viewed the mayoralty as a stepping stone in his political career; while Gatsas isn't my favorite politician, he seems rooted in the city and concerned about improving it. I hope he picks up on things like the neighborhood initiatives and steers development downtown and in key areas of surrounding neighborhoods.
 
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Too bad there isn't an option for a satellite-mayor's office in Boston. You'd be great. Maybe someday.
 
Well as far as the streetcar idea is concerned, wouldn't you want to at least have a stop at St. Anselms? I would think that a lot of people would benefit greatly from the thought that you could leave your house and have a direct train to your school and back. Other than that, kudos! Very good map.
 
pel, thanks. Obviously, the map is very hypothetical and based more on anecdote and my understanding of the city than any research. Still, I wanted to be as realistic as possible, envisioning a system that I think would serve the most people, provide the biggest economic development and in the most efficient way I could think of. Saint Anselm (and SNHU & MCC/NHCTC to a lesser extent because they're in much less populated areas) was one spot that I thought could use a connection but couldn't figure out how to get a streetcar there. My thought was that if a line went from downtown up Kelley Street and over the bridge to Pinardville, St. Anselm could probably build a footpath through its land and Roy Park to connect to the end of that.

I think getting St. Anselm on a streetcar line, or close to one, would be important in getting a system used. A streetcar system would need to serve the existing population and destinations, but also spur development. Right now, St. Anselm is just a bit too disconnected from the city center to be a fully engaged part of the city. In addition to all the other benefits of an improved transit system, connecting the city and Saint Anselm would benefit both immensely. I think trying to get a streetcar right to St. A's door, though, might not work. The path would have to wind down some very low-density streets, and would probably see limited use outside of commuting hours and nights. If the city ever seriously looks into a streetcar system (who knows?) and determined that getting a streetcar right to St A's would greatly increase ridership, I think it would be worth the expense.

SNHU and MCC would probably always have to be served by buses, which is a shame as I think it really is harder to get people to ride a bus than a streetcar and nothing is more disconnected than a car ride. I'd have loved to have seen MCC moved downtown or somewhere in the city center instead of the renovation on the existing campus a few years ago.
 
I just saw an article--pertaining more to New Hampshire in general than to Manchester--about an initiative to try to retain young workers. As a member of the target audience who has moved away, I feel a bit hypocritical promoting this, but it sounds promising as part of an effort to attract and retain young professionals to Manchester.

AP: NH hopes to keep young workers with new website

CONCORD ? When Graham Chynoweth finished law school in 2004, he faced a choice: return to his native New Hampshire, or head to Boston, where all the "smart" people were going.
Some people told him to wait until he was 35 before moving back to New Hampshire. Others said get more experience before trying to start his career here.
"That was totally wrong," said Chynoweth, now a vice president and legal counsel for a Manchester technology firm. "Smart people understand that in a large city it takes so long -- because there's so many people competing on so many different levels -- to get noticed in any one thing. ... I think there's an amazing opportunity for success if people view New Hampshire as the right place to launch a career."
Chynoweth also is co-chairman of Stay Work Play NH, a nonprofit organization dedicated to encouraging more young workers to settle in New Hampshire. The group is launching a website, www.stayworkplay.org, on Monday aimed at 20- to 30-year-olds that includes information about each element -- staying, working and playing in New Hampshire -- as well as a job search function and links to social media tools.
"The state constantly gets sold short and, really, sells itself short," Chynoweth said. "That myth -- that you can't succeed and you can't have it all in New Hampshire -- is what this website is going to blow up."
Under the "stay" category, visitors to the site will find information about New Hampshire's quality of life, buying or renting a home, educational opportunities and how to stay connected via social media networks and young professional networks. The "work" category provides an overview of the state's economy, resources for starting a business and a job search tool that allows users to view responses by location and salary range. The "play" category highlights New Hampshire as a "natural playground" as well as its "vibrant cultural community" with an event calendar and list of 101 things to do for fun.
Matt Cookson, the organization's president, said the goal is to offer one-stop shopping for young people, but he also hopes visitors will become active participants by submitting their own photos, stories and other content.
"This is really for other people, and we want them to come and give us ideas and give us content we can re-use," he said. "Fun photos of their favorite places, videos on why they like New Hampshire from the perspective of staying, working and playing, ideas about events they want to share with people."
The site will host a video contest this fall, and plans are in the works to make the job search feature more New Hampshire-specific and to include more internship opportunities, Cookson said.
Stay Work Play NH grew out of the University System of New Hampshire's "55 percent" initiative, which seeks to keep 55 percent of the system's graduates in New Hampshire, and has been trying to implement several of the recommendations made a year ago by the governor's task force on retaining young workers.
The task force found that while it is mostly a myth that the state's young workers are fleeing New Hampshire in droves, it could do more to attract and retain them.
"One of the major findings of the task force was that there's really a disconnect between New Hampshire employers and New Hampshire's potential employees, especially at the college level, with the perception being that there's no good jobs in New Hampshire," Chynoweth said. "As you can see from the recent unemployment numbers, there's actually a lot of jobs in New Hampshire. We have way lower unemployment than a lot of other places. So there's a lot of good jobs here. We've just got to connect small businesses with New Hampshire with the students that are coming out and the people who are thinking of coming here or coming back."
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There's also this article from last week's Hippo about living downtown.
 
I've only had time to flip through it so far, but I just came across a concise, but comprehensive summary of the Manchester's master plan from December 2009. Given that this is the most recent of the many studies linked to in this thread and one that will directly lead to zoning and planning policy, it definitely seems to carry the most weight going forward. What does everyone think of the ideas laid out in the document?

edit: previous link was incorrect
 
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Thanks for posting the link! There's a lot of great ideas and it's good to see that this master plan is a continuation of the last one. I hope we see a completed or more robust Riverwalk in the future. People are always on the new bridge across the Merrimack and if people are out and about, the area becomes more vibrant. I was especially pleased to see a mention of looping the Riverwalk next to the Everett Turnpike. The area next to the highway is prime parkland right at the river's edge.
 
The UL online provides just a summary of an article about relocating the Armory from its current Canal Street location:

MANCHESTER ? The National Guard Armory is on "prime real estate" and should be rebuilt on a different site, Manchester Mayor Ted Gatsas told the governor and Executive Council yesterday.
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Anyone have any more information on this?

I think it's a bit of a stretch to consider this part of downtown... I'd say it's straddling the area between the North End and what the city is calling The Nob (North of Bridge). Still, this is a very important gateway to the city coming over the Amoskeag Bridge. It's also right next to one of the city's tallest buildings and an apartment high-rise. I think you could see a nice collection of high-rise buildings complimenting the downtown skyline up here. I'd like to see more development in the downtown proper, the Gaslight and a few neighborhood centers first, but this is an important site and good to see some action on Gatsas' part. Let's just hope it doesn't become another Market Basket.
 
I contact the Manchester planning department or economic development department occasionally to ask questions about things that aren't specified in greater detail online. They were pretty helpful and willing to talk. Most planning departments are. I might try there if you can't get any other info online. Just call them up.

Also, I look forward to reading through manchesters plan. thanks for posting. a plan, to be effective, needs advocates for it, or else it gets placed to the side. So at one and the same time they are both very weak and very powerful documents. Depends on whose at the helm.
 
Oh and I forgot to add that continuing the riverwalk should be the TOP priority. People like to walk along scenic vistas. Nashua has something like that if I am not mistaken. Exeter does, too, and it is beautiful.
 
The Globe has a bit more information, but maybe I'll contact Planning with a few general questions anyway:

MANCHESTER, N.H.?The mayor of New Hampshire's largest city says the National Guard needs to build a new armory to replace a 73-year-old structure on prime Manchester real estate.


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Manchester Mayor Ted Gatsas met Wednesday at the 11-acre Canal Street armory with Gov. John Lynch and members of New Hampshire's executive council.

Guard Adjutant Gen. William Reddel III says there's federal money for an armory, but the state would have to buy the land.

The guard has proposals for two structures, both about 122,000-square feet, one costing $20 million, the other $54 million. But it does not have a location in mind.

The New Hampshire Union Leader says that each week more than 600 guard members use the existing facility.

Gatsas said other sites for an armory are being explored.
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And yes, the Riverwalk needs to be completed. The Millyard is beautiful, but dies out considerably after work. The Riverwalk would not only be a great place to see the river, but would be a big draw to the Millyard at all hours and would probably result in more restaurants in the area. Hopefully once the Riverwalk is built and becomes a draw, the Millyard and Downtown will be stitched together naturally by people making their way between the two.
 
I know that where I come from, Tampa, Florida, it is in the same position that we are in, granted there are 3x the population, but it seems that most of the current events are the same as this area. Tampa is in the process of realizing that water is a precious commodity. I know that there are endless benefits of capitalizing a waterfront, but I think that it needs to be approached with some forethought and extensive planning. http://www.thetampariverwalk.com/ I think that the riverwalk needs to go from the dam all the way down to behind Hesser. There needs to be restaurants, shops, and other things that will create interest in the riverwalk. I think that there should also be docks that you could go out and view the water rushing under you. There needs to be adequate lighting, and police presence as well to keep people safe.

Anyone think I am crazy or does this actually sound like a good idea?
 
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