Manchester Infill & Small Developments

[FrankLloydMike]

if you look on their site, across from the larger proposed building, there is another plot of land, where a proposed diner or 1 floor retail outlet would be. I think this may be where the liquor store is referring to. However, whether it be a liquor store or a diner, neither IMO is the best as I still think better use of the land could come by a multi floor and multi tenant building. More square footage in same amount of land.

I think you're probably right, and I completely agree that more square footage makes more sense--not just in terms of making that area more urban, but for the amount of money the city can get in a sale and later in tax revenue.

Anyway, I got a brief response from someone in the economic development/planning office that they believe the mayor's intention is to sell it for a single-story, suburban-style liquor store. I haven't gotten any more information on the idea or who has control of that land--my sense is that selling any land must go through the aldermen, or perhaps MEDO or the MHA depending on who exactly has ownership. I emailed Alderman Garth Corriveau, whom I believe is among the most progressive, livability-minded aldermen, asking for more information and explaining my thoughts on the matter. I'd suggest that everyone who wants to see Manchester develop in an urban fashion email the aldermen, especially the at-large and West Side members, asking them to oppose any low-density, single-story or suburban-style development at the Granite Landing sites. Just like the old Flat Iron district up the road, this area is one that needs to be rezoned to prohibit such hair-brained ideas as a highway liquor store in a parking lot.

 

[FrankLloydMike]

I'm not sure if anyone's seen this yet, but I just stumbled upon a city website tracking construction of the municipal complex on Valley Street. It has some nice shots of the progress.

DPW foundation under construction looking toward downtown

Here's a site plan and rendering by Lavallee Brensinger Architects of Manchester:

Lavallee Brensinger has a clearer view of the site plan in their June newsletter. It's not clear what the building labeled "shops" along Valley Street is, but given that the site plan shows no loading docks or bays, I'm optimistically hoping it's a nice row of street-facing retail. If not, it's still good to see a stronger urban wall along that side of Valley Street. I'm not sure why the police station steps back slightly farther from Valley Street than the shops and DPW buildings do, but LB's work is generally very good and I trust we'll see something interesting and appropriate here.

 

[M. Brown]

Nice views. That's the first time I have seen actual plans or a rendering of the site.

 

[PeterV]

It looks like the diagonal section labeled "Employee Parking" is on the proposed route for the rail trail that will connect the Rockingham Trail, the bicycle trail that starts at Mammoth Rd and goes to the sea coast, to downtown. I hope that there is a bicycle lane or something through this area.

 

[FrankLloydMike]

It looks like the diagonal section labeled "Employee Parking" is on the proposed route for the rail trail that will connect the Rockingham Trail, the bicycle trail that starts at Mammoth Rd and goes to the sea coast, to downtown. I hope that there is a bicycle lane or something through this area.

I noticed the same thing, and I'm assuming the bicyclists riding through will use the travel lines in the lot. Not the nicest thing in the world, but it's a relatively short patch on a much longer trail. Hopefully there will be a designated bike lane to the side, though... I'd much rather see the entire length of that trail reserved for non-motor travel (or a light rail if we're dreaming). Finishing the trail through the neighborhoods on the southeast city center there would make them much more attractive.

 

[found5dollar]

It's not clear what the building labeled "shops" along Valley Street is, but given that the site plan shows no loading docks or bays, I'm optimistically hoping it's a nice row of street-facing retail.

I might assume that is would be work shops such as "Metal shop" "Maintenance Shop" etc.

 

[MonopolyBag]

I take the word "shops" as being work shops, as there was no talk about retail, and why would the city spend money on retail shops rather than on the project at task. But I am liking the conceptual images of the finished product. Much more greenery will help as well as new buildings as this area of the city has much potential and yet so much work is needed.

Again as I expressed in the past, along with the actual development side of things, a proper complex to work out of for both the police and other departments will improve the cities performance.

 

[FrankLloydMike]

I could see "shops" being either workshops or retail... the site plan from a year ago shows workshops behind the vehicle storage with the furniture store building remaining where the "shops" are shown in the latest plan. Unlike the earlier site plan, the latest one shows the Water Works building and Lincoln Street remaining, and the vehicle storage pushed further east. The City also recently acquired the furniture store site, so all that would lead me to believe that the "shops" are in fact workshops. Just looking at the latest site plan, however, wouldn't lead me to the conclusion that the the "shops" building is workshops or any other support service building--it seems to front Valley Street, it features no loading docks or driveways, and it's separated from vehicle storage and other support areas by a parking lot. So I don't know what to make of it exactly.

Whether it's workshops or retail, the new urban wall and landscaping along Valley will be a huge improvement, which will make the area between Gill Stadium and Wilson Street much nicer. East of Wilson, and especially Belmont, Valley is more residential but also more urban-feeling, I think. The north side of the intersection of Lincoln & Valley is one of the only spots along Valley where the buildings front the sidewalk and offer--albeit briefly--a sense of urban enclosure. The new DPW and "shops" buildings on the south side will complete this. Like the current furniture building, neither of the buildings on the north side are particularly nice or have tenants that activate the street, but any of them could be renovated and repurposed as street-facing retail. With several hundred new workers coming to the neighborhood next year, it would make sense to see lunch spots and other retailers open up shop in the area. Whatever the use, the building will be better urbanistically than the current situation, but retail would provide a good antidote to the suburban-style shopping malls and stores that have grown along Valley in the past decade.

As much as I love seeing the new ballpark along the river, it really is detached from downtown (better planning and developed along Elm south of Granite and the Rivers Edge could change that), and I wonder if the city should have at least considered keeping the Fishercats at Gill Stadium. With the right zoning, I wonder if a hotel, some higher-end housing, pedestrian-oriented shops and so on could have been developed in the Valley Street area. The current location still probably makes more sense, but I wonder.

On a side note, I'm curious to see what will be proposed for the current police station site once the department moves. With the renovated courthouse and Greg Barrett's vision for a "Cultural Enterprise District" along Manchester Street, the Chestnut Street block could be a really interesting development opportunity.

 

[MonopolyBag]

I do not like the "cultural district" concept. I jut think renovation of buildings should be pushed and more street and sidewalk and other city amenity upgrades. However in this economy growth is slow. I do like the park though, i think Manchester needs more parks. I like the concept of bringing in more places for destination for people because this seems to be the current problem on Elm st is that all the places are restaurants, nothing else. I still think a movies theatre, maybe one of the larger chains (amc or regal) should have a down town theatre of medium to large size. Again, a good spot may be the river's edge phase II or III area once elliot is done. And incorporate into this a specified bus stop area. This will get people who live around the city into the downtown area rather than going off to hooksett or londonderry for a movie and dinner. It is sad to see our theatres go, i love the older movie theatres with the ticket booth outside on the sidewalk. (side not, look up "movie pass") the service basically was a concept to get people to attend movie theatre more, but it has been shot down by the big chains.

The ball park, I didn't think was new, only renovated, but I agree 100% that it is detached, and not only the ball park but the entire mill area. Many of the proposals and other concepts have addressed that with in my opinion very nice potentially effective solutions like opening up streets and making them more attractive leading into the mills area.

I still think that both more bike paths and bike amenities (bike racks and lanes) would help the city grow as it gets people out of their cars and people can go further than on foot.

I never thought about it, but all the new jobs to the area will indeed change valley street. The stop and shop is falling apart and so many vacancies there with the land ready for a drive through restaurant there for ages.

And yes, the old police station will be vacant once they make the move, however they may choose to use it for city offices still? I hope something creative is done or it is turned into additional retail and residential building. It is in such a strong location it would be sad for it to not be used for anything good.

 

[MonopolyBag]

Oh, and the fact that the building states shops AND inventory makes me think it is not retail. That is the main reason

 

[FrankLloydMike]

One of the differences often citied between Manchester and Portland is that Manchester is not a tourist city, and while I don't think that's likely to ever change really, Manchester is definitely getting more visitors--whether diners, day-trippers, museum-goers, business travelers or sports fans--than it has in the past. Tonight, the city will host the Eastern League All-Star Game for the second time--the first was in 2008--and the city and the Fisher Cats threw a large, downtown party last night that the UL has a write-up on.

It's great to see big events like this in the city, and I would have loved to attend. Along with the Hippo's Taco Tour in May, the All-Star Game and other big events are getting people downtown on weeknights and enjoying the city. With the right zoning, improvements in infrastructure, and incentives and directives for developers, Manchester could likely attract some of these visitors as urban residents one day, as well as making the city more of a regional destination on non-event nights.

All-Star block party at Veterans Park

Fisher Cats throw a block party
JIM FENNELL
Published Jul 13, 2011

Tonight's Eastern League All-Star Game at Northeast Delta Dental Stadium is about baseball. It's about some of the best and brightest stars in the game coming together for one night. It's about the Home Run Derby and New Hampshire native Jeff Locke pitching in the riverfront stadium for the first time.

Tuesday night's All-Star Block Party at Veterans Memorial Park was about none of that.

It was about a 2-year-old boy from Hooksett scaling the top of an inflatable climbing wall for the very first time and sliding down with a huge smile on his face. It was about a Massachusetts couple taking turns getting their picture taken next to one of NASCAR driver Kevin Harvick's race cars.

More than anything, this was about New Hampshire Fisher Cats owner Art Solomon saying thanks to everyone who helped establish his team as one of the model franchises in minor league baseball.

“I think it's very special,” Solomon said. “In my view, this is the people's team and let's celebrate it accordingly.”

Those people included Tony and Dee from have Haverhill, Mass. They were both dressed in black, and Dee had a black star drawn around one eye. They looked more the part of two people headed to a Kiss concert at the Verizon Wireless Arena. And, well, that's where they were headed.

A Kiss tribute band, Klassik Kiss, took to the main stage to play a short set.

Mama Kicks, the veteran New Hampshire cover band, provided most of the music and front woman Lisa Guyer quickly got the crowd going.

Guyer said she had seen it all during her 35 years in the business — that's until the Ace Frehley knockoff from Klassik Kiss came by to praise her singing. She admits she never had a guy dressed in makeup and heels compliment her before.

“Yeah, that's a first,” Guyer said with a laugh.

The guys on stage were followed by another band of power players. Solomon, Gov. John Lynch and Manchester Mayor Ted Gatsas took their bows. Gatsas was gleaming, and not just because of the heat. The city was alive and vibrant for a night, its main park filled with people from around the state and the region, its hotels booked solid and its restaurants and bars hopping. Tonight will be more of the same when a sell-out crowd of close to 9,000 fills the stadium.

“Manchester of 10 years ago would have loved to get 10,000 new people to the city for the whole year, not just for one night,” Gatsas said.

Fisher Cats President and General Manager Rick Brenner said the team looks to offer people different layers of entertainment. Those layers were on full display during the block party.

The cars of Kevin Harvick and Kurt Busch were parked along the Elm Street entrance of the park. Milling about was a Fisher Cats employee dressed as Uncle Sam. Fisher Cats mascots Fungo and Slider were also around, as were Max from the Manchester Monarchs and a TD Bank North mascot that I think was supposed to be an ATM.

There was a beer garden set up a few hundred feet from a kids' park, the Manchester Police Department's armored SWAT vehicle parked next to a telephone company tent, set up next to a table for a sports bar, set up next to a booth for an amusement park, which was located not far from an Italian ice stand.

There were even some all-stars around to sign autographs, including Conway native Locke, a pitcher in the Pittsburgh Pirates organization who was looking forward to his first chance to pitch in Northeast Delta Stadium.

Scott and Molly Mortimer of Merrimack were there with their young son Andrew for the block party in 2008, when the Fisher Cats hosted their first Eastern League All-Star Game. They thought there were more activities for kids the first time, but they weren't complaining.

“We like to come out to see what kind of event Manchester puts on,” Scott said. “So far, so good.”

The Mortimers were busy watching Andrew, 6, play in the bouncy house. Baseball didn't seem to be on any of their minds at that moment, and that was all right with team owner Solomon.

“We wanted to invite anybody and everybody,” Solomon said, “and let them celebrate with us.”

It seemed like people from all walks of life took him up on that invite. Welcome to Manchester.

UL photo gallery of block party

 

[MonopolyBag]

This is very old, from 2002. But have not seen it here on the thread.

http://www.manchesternh.gov/website...nning/projects/Civic Center Area Planning.pdf

It seems to have some good ideas, most of which have not yet been implemented at all. I like the residential redevelopment along central st. The only signs of anything there is that parking lot which seems to now be city owned land, hopefully with the idea of future redevelopment.

 

[FrankLloydMike]

This is very old, from 2002. But have not seen it here on the thread.

http://www.manchesternh.gov/website...nning/projects/Civic Center Area Planning.pdf

It seems to have some good ideas, most of which have not yet been implemented at all. I like the residential redevelopment along central st. The only signs of anything there is that parking lot which seems to now be city owned land, hopefully with the idea of future redevelopment.

That is old, but it does contain a bunch of great ideas. Unfortunately, you're right that only a few have been implemented, and they are mostly the ones relating to road construction. Granite Street and the I-293 interchange have been upgraded and re-landscaped--the trees and daylilies in the median in Granite Square look beautiful and the scaled up, iconic Amoskeag street lights are nice--but the road was also widened, which I think is shortsighted and clearly not in the interest of beautifying the gateway. The other big improvements I've seen are fixing up the sidewalks and doing some landscaping, again including the nice street lights, along Old Granite, the new "Crosswalk" statue and some attractive wayfinding signs added throughout downtown. Less tangible, but probably most important has been the adoption of an Arena District overlay in the zoning code, which requires more pedestrian-friendly, urban-appropriate design in the area.

I'd love to see Central Street redeveloped with a focus on the residential side. It seems like a perfect location--right downtown, facing one of the city's major parks, but off a major road and on enough of an edge to feel almost like its own neighborhood. I could see something ground-level retail along the whole stretch or just near Elm, but like Lafayette Park on the West Side, it seems like park-facing restaurants and shops along Central Street would be a good fit for the area. Unfortunately, that new parking lot which replaced some especially drab buildings is not owned by the city. It's owned by BotCo-NH, Inc., an entity I can find very little information on, but hopefully they'll develop it more fully and responsibly as the economy recovers. What irks me about this site is that it is in direct opposition to both the Arena District overlay zoning, which covers it, and the explicit goal of the City to not have parking right around the arena, creating foot traffic for downtown businesses. I'm glad those dumpy buildings are gone, but I'm afraid the City allowing BotCo to violate the spirit and possibly zoning for short-term gain may leave that corner a parking lot for years to come. Hopefully not though.

I'll admit to also being personally disappointed with places like the new Grand club on Canal Street and Drynk, which replaced Wally & Bernie's across from the Verizon. Neither suit my taste in nightlife, but that's not my issue: just from driving by, they seem like somewhat classier, less crime-prone versions of the skeevy nightclubs like Omega that the city successfully got rid of a few years back. That might be an unfair passage of judgement, but they don't seem to fit the spirit that the city and planners seem to be striving toward for the neighborhood in documents like this: one that is lively, but a bit more low key and friendly to people of all ages day and night. It's admittedly much more to my taste, but I think the microbrewery this document seeks for the Gaslight would be much more welcoming to families, arena-goers and Mancunians in general than a dance club.

On a broader note, I'm glad to see more construction activity all over the city than in recent years, and the Planning Department website recently reposted the Arena District plan citing increased interest. Those are all good signs, but what is disappointing is that so many of these thought-provoking planning documents are several years old, mostly dating to the time when Bob Baines was mayor. Admittedly, the economy was much stronger during his tenure, but I think it illustrates the importance of having a mayor with some sort of vision for the city. I hope we see more of that in the coming years whether it is from Gatsas or someone else.

 

[MonopolyBag]

I was taking the boston express today and was wondering why building a train station between N. Commercial St, Bedford St, and Canal St along Granite St. was not considered?

There is some plot of land with just grass and something round (which i have no idea what it is) between N. Commercial and Bedford St. and then some land East of the rail tracks along Canal. I could see a building being constructed over the rails, Bedford St, and int hat open land if it serves no other purpose. It would be right next to the current bus station and make more sense to me.

Yes a creative design would have to be developed, and parking would also have to be looked at carefully, again maybe something creative could be done, but seems like a better location being on Granite, near Elm, next to the bus station, right of the highway exit, and a good use of land leaving a large parking lot open for possible future development or continued use for parking.

Regarding parking, there is the parking garage behind the Radison that does I believe attach to the bus station already. So a huge parking lot IMO is not needed. possibly just a few space below a building and then maybe build a raised building that then goes over the parking, Bedford St, and the rails and then along Canal St. goes down to street level to meet the rails.

Just wonder if anyone (probably FLMike) has any thoughts regarding this.


Any news on the potentially bad liquor store right off the exit?

 

[FrankLloydMike]

I was taking the boston express today and was wondering why building a train station between N. Commercial St, Bedford St, and Canal St along Granite St. was not considered?

There is some plot of land with just grass and something round (which i have no idea what it is) between N. Commercial and Bedford St. and then some land East of the rail tracks along Canal. I could see a building being constructed over the rails, Bedford St, and int hat open land if it serves no other purpose. It would be right next to the current bus station and make more sense to me.

Yes a creative design would have to be developed, and parking would also have to be looked at carefully, again maybe something creative could be done, but seems like a better location being on Granite, near Elm, next to the bus station, right of the highway exit, and a good use of land leaving a large parking lot open for possible future development or continued use for parking.

Regarding parking, there is the parking garage behind the Radison that does I believe attach to the bus station already. So a huge parking lot IMO is not needed. possibly just a few space below a building and then maybe build a raised building that then goes over the parking, Bedford St, and the rails and then along Canal St. goes down to street level to meet the rails.

Just wonder if anyone (probably FLMike) has any thoughts regarding this.


Any news on the potentially bad liquor store right off the exit?

I think that's the spot of the original train station in Manchester, which was replaced in the late 19th-century by the grander Union Station south of Granite Street, so there's definitely precedent for it there.

I agree that in many ways that spot is more ideal than Spring Street, both for a transit hub and as a gateway to the city. And Granite Street could definitely use more urban definition on its edges (I wish there was ground floor retail at the new Pandora parking garage, for instance, instead of a surface lot). Anyway, that open land used to be a nice looking park with a playground, I believe, which was probably used a lot by the residents in the nearby rowhouses. As far as I know, it's being rebuilt following the Granite Street work.

I don't know enough about how a train/intermodal station would be laid out, but my guess is that the orientation of that site (the shorter side along the tracks) isn't ideal. I could see something over the tracks like you said, though. I also think the idea is to abandon the current station and integrate the commuter bus, rail and local transit hub into one station.

I do think there needs to be ample parking at the intermodal station, though, and I think the lack of parking at the current bus station is a big reason why Boston Express is so under-serving the city these days. I think the bus companies, city and any train service would want designated parking spots for commuters. I'd love to see more people take a good local bus system to the train station, but until that day (and I think it'll probably happen in the opposite direction) a parking garage is going to need to be part of any intermodal station.

Another option that could be great--but I doubt is under consideration--would be to build the station on the land just south of Granite Street between Commercial and Canal Streets, which is currently underutilized as surface parking for WMUR. If the city could deed WMUR parking space in whatever new parking structure is built or something like that, the space seems big enough and ideally located for an intermodal station. It would be along a major gateway, right between the ballpark and arena, as well as the Gaslight District, and all the other things going for the originally planned site. I think Spring Street will work well and has its own benefits, but my feeling is that it's the backup principally because it's already owned by the city.

As far as the West Side liquor store is concerned, I read an article in the UL print edition that a number of aldermen opposed it at a recent BMA meeting, much to Gatsas' surprise (are you kidding me!?), so that's good news. I'll try to remember to scan it and post it here, but it seems like a good number of aldermen understand what a boneheaded idea it is.

 

[FrankLloydMike]

Speaking of the UL print edition, the website has a teaser about an article regarding Riverwalk Place.

If anyone has access to the print edition and can scan the article, I'd love to read it. The current buildings seem far too suburban in nature, though the site is a bit odd and I think urban growth is probably more likely to occur up by Rivers Edge and along southern Elm Street. So I'm not sure what to think about this second phase, but it looks denser at least and I think will be built between the current buildings and the ballpark.

 

[MonopolyBag]

Yeah, there is actually parking on both sides of the tracks on the WMUR side.

I didn't know the bus station would be incorporated in it, but I guess this is a viable option. Granite Street though is just nice now with the upgrades, right off the highway, and is the major entry point to the city. So it would make the most sense IMO to have it there off of Granite St.

Although a short article, the project looks good. More residential apartments and condos are needed in the city. The actual inner city needs more, but any new upgrades along the river is a plus as I would really like to see the river walk completed and run the whole length of the river unbroken.

 

[FrankLloydMike]

Granite Street is nice--and I'd love to see people getting off the train or bus and walking up Granite or Old Granite past the new "Crosswalks" sculpture into the city. It would be a great gateway not just for people coming from I-293.

I just checked the GIS map for the city, and the lot north of Granite on the Commercial side of the tracks is owned by the Parks & Recreation Department. The long, narrow strip between the tracks and Canal is owned by MHRA for some reason. As expected, the WMUR building is owned by Hearst-Argyle, but the parking on the opposite side of the tracks south of Granite Street (along Canal) is owned by the city. Obviously not big enough to house a station on that piece alone, but it's a start if the city could get some land from WMUR or something.

I've seen better pictures, but this is the best I could find online of the original passenger station north of Granite Street:

I agree that the inner city needs more urban housing for middle-class families, young professionals and others. I think building something up along the river there is good news in terms of bringing more people to the Riverwalk and offering more housing options, but I'll be more excited about anything built near Rivers Edge or better integrated with downtown or the surrounding neighborhoods.

 

[MonopolyBag]

but the parking on the opposite side of the tracks south of Granite Street (along Canal) is owned by the city. Obviously not big enough to house a station on that piece alone, but it's a start if the city could get some land from WMUR or something.

I think it could be big enough to house the station, with the exception of parking, I think that again with creative design, the building would be large enough. I really do not see the need for anything too big.

Bus stations for the buses, and then a trains station for the train and that is about it. That land there is not that small and although narrow, could be put to goo use. Keeping the current bus station and updating it as needed, I think it could be done. I think often too much land is used up for a project (often municipal projects) where is smarter design was done more land could be saved for future development or land preservation.

 

[PeterV]

The is a little blurb in the Union Leader about a 'hospital-hotel' at the new Elliot at River's Edge today. There really isn't any information but it will be something to keep an eye on.