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URBAN DESIGN ASSOCIATES

Nashua Downtown Master Plan

III Retail and Entertainment RETAIL DEVELOPMENT POTENTIAL IN DOWNTOWN NASHUA is 30

Strategies

specialized and limited. Growth will depend largely upon
growth in other sectors, such as housing and entertainment.
Adding entertainment uses, recreational uses, regional attrac-
tions, educational uses, and other “off-hour” uses, will help sus-
tain the existing retail demand and create critical mass for
more retail opportunities.

Due to the regional concentration of discount retailers, and
national chains in the suburbs, Downtown Nashua should not
compete for such commercial development. Instead, Down-
town Nashua should seek a competitive position in a specific
retail market consisting of:

+ Downtown neighborhood-serving retail

+ Visitor and tourist-oriented retail

+ Daytime retail supporting Downtown businesses

* Selected, specialized regional retail seeking an urban set-
ting

* Retail serving the myriad uses proposed in the Master Plan

such as performing arts, recreational, educational.

To this end, the Master Plan recommends creating a second
retail node along Main Street South between Otterson Avenue
and Salmon Brook Park. Anchored by the recently renovated
Globe Plaza, now the Main Street Marketplace, the Main

Street South retail node will complement, but not compete
with Main Street North.

Retail and
Entertainment
Continued infill
initiatives and
construction of new
cultural, performance,
and entertainment
venues in the
Downtown will
provide nightlife to
complement existing
restaurants and

attractions.

DESIGN ASSOCIATES

The Market Study concluded there is a
need for better quality space to serve the
existing performing arts market in the
City. Currently, Nashua-area perform-
ance and arts groups are using several
local facilities scattered around the City.
In addition, there is a potential for a
Downtown Performing Arts Center to
compete for a regional performing arts
market that is not currently attracted to
the area. The market study recommends
a new 400 to 500 seat Performing Arts
Facility in downtown Nashua to be
developed in the short term to meet the
needs of arts groups attracting smaller
audiences.

A larger facility (800-1000 seats) is
not recommended because it will com-
pete directly with several recently built,
high quality facilities in surrounding
communities. Construction of such a
facility is significantly more expensive
than a 400-seat venue, is dependent on
touring acts, would be in direct competi-
tion with facilities in nearby cities, and
perhaps most significant, is not needed
for performing arts groups currently
operating in Nashua, with the exception
of the Nashua Symphony..

The Master Plan recommends 14

Court Street for development of the Per-

forming Arts Center. The site will

accommodate the recommended 400-

Nashua Downtown Master Plan

500 seat theatre (or a 1000-seat venue if
the market changes in the next few

years.)

The Market Study concluded there is
not currently a strong market for a hotel
in Downtown Nashua due to lack of
major room-night generators. The over-
all Nashua hotel market is currently soft
because business travel is flat. Demand
for a hotel will not likely emerge for at
least three to five years.

The Market Study recommends
long-term planning for a 75-room, lim-
ited service hotel that would serve the
needs of business and leisure travelers to
the Nashua area who prefer competi-

tively-priced hotel accommodations

located near Downtown restaurants and

The proposed hotel site is
located adjacent to the
Performing Arts Center
and along the Nashua

River,

Nashua Downtown Master Plan

shops, to rooms located along the Inter- 32
state. The Downtown hotel would be
ideally located for parents visiting stu-
dents attending Rivier College, for
example, as well as for travelers visiting
the Southern New Hampshire Medical
Center. The proposed hotel and pro-
posed Performing Arts Center could
have a mutually beneficial relationship, as
touring performers could stay at the
hotel and weekend “get-away” cultural
packages could be offered, linking
Downtown restaurants, events at the
Performing Arts Center, and hotel
rooms. The suggested hotel concept
would be an attractive, 4-to-5 story
building with 70 to 75 standard guest
rooms, a few suites, a boardroom, and an

exercise room.

UREAN DESIGN ASSOCIATES Nashua Downtown Master Plan

Initiative Areas
and Opportunities

33

URBAN DESIGN ASSOCIATES

1 Introduction

Nashua Downtown Master Plan

THE MASTER PLAN RELIES ON A BUNDLE of strategies that work 34
together to knit Nashua’s Downtown into a single, cohesive
whole. These strategies, in the form of five initiatives (see map
below), build upon the strengths and alleviate the weaknesses
of the Downtown. Together, these five initiatives will help
Downtown transform itself from a good Main Street to a great
Downtown. These strategies are illustrated and described in
the following five chapters.

To be successful, it is imperative that the streets, parks and

other public infrastructure be improved simultaneously with

the development proposed in each initiative area.

UR EAN DESIGN assocrates Nashua Downtown Master Plan

Master Plan

The Master Plan is
comprised of many
initiatives throughout
Downtown.
Implementation will
belp transform
Downtown from a good
Main Street to a great

Downtown.

35

UR EAN DESIGN assocrates Nashua Downtown Master Plan

Il

Riverfront West

THE TERM “RIVERFRONT WEST” DOES NOT currently exist in the
everyday language of Nashua residents. Historically, the
Nashua River was both the engine and the sewer for industry.
Only in recent years has the City begun to look at its rivers and
riverfronts as opportunities for non-industrial, private invest-
ment and more importantly, for “quality of life” public invest-
ments in parks.

With only one river crossing and the historic pattern of
“backing buildings onto” the river, the two sides of the Nashua
River have always been viewed as separate places. The River-

front initiatives seek to develop the river as the connector for a

Riverfront West

UR EAN DESIGN assocrates Nashua Downtown Master Plan

single, mixed-use community.

In order to harness the power of the
river to drive the Mill’s turbines, many of
Nashua’s oldest industrial buildings were
located in the flood plain. Those that
have been redeveloped have sealed off

their lower floors to protect against
flooding. Building new, habitable build-

ings in the flood plain is not feasible.

Therefore, the Master Plan uses the 37
flood plain delineation for guidance as to

where buildings can and cannot be

located. A riverfront park becomes the

“highest and best use” for the flood plain,

This proposed riverfront park will

become one of Nashua’s most valuable

investments.

Initiatives

A Riverfront West
Park

B Nashua Corporation
Buildings

C Broad Street
Parkway

D Redeveloped
Millyard

E Redeveloped
Bronstein Apartments
F Reconfigured
Courthouse Oval

G The Center for
Nashua Heritage and
Future Technology

Flood Plain

Many of the buildings
in the proposed
Riverfront West area
are located in the flood
plain (shown in light
blue}

DESIGN ASSOCIATES

Riverfront West Park

Much of the land on the north bank of
the Nashua River is in the flood plain.
These parcels of land can become the
jewel and center of Nashua's riverfront
park system. The park should include
both active and passive uses, including
play fields and an outdoor amphitheater.
All new development in the flood plain

are event oriented structures not subject

Nashua Downtown Master Plan

to flood plain regulations for habitable
structures. Front Street will become a
park drive and the new front door to
fully redeveloped Nashua Corporation
buildings. The regional trail system
should be incorporated in the park.
On the south bank of the river, Le
Parc de Notre Renaissance Francaise

should be improved. The Water Street

ramp currently looms over this park,

Riverfront West
Park

(sop)

The flood plain will be
converted into the City’s
largest Downtown
open space, as well as
being connected to the
greater regional park

system.

Clock tower Place
(middle)

more
industrial buildings,

like Clock tower Place,
will enliven this area of
Downtown with new

residents.

Water Street Ramp
Le Pare de Notre
Renaissance Francaise
can be improved by
eliminating one row of
parking (existing,
bottom left} and
creating a screen of
landscape (proposed,
bottom right).

UREAN

DESIGN ASSOCIATES

detracting from its beauty. A row of per-

pendicular parking should be removed
and replaced with a row of parallel
parking in order to provide a planting
strip to mask the base of the ramp.

Redevelopment of Nashua
Corporation Property and Buildings
Further adaptive reuse of the historic

Nashua Corporation buildings will

require improved access and replacement

parking. The Master Plan proposes

extending Front Street as a park drive for
the new Riverfront West Park which will
allow the Nashua Corporation buildings

to reorient themselves to the river, taking

advantage of a new park address.

The Master Plan also identifies four

optional locations for a parking garage

serving the former Nashua Corporation.

The preferred location is adjacent to the

Nashua Corporation buildings, across

Franklin Street. This parking garage

could be shared with businesses at Rail-

road Square and adjacent to the Main

Street bridge.

All four sites for the parking garage

should be more thoroughly studied by

Nashua Downtown Master Plan

the City. The garage must achieve the 39

following objectives:

* facilitate redevelopment of Nashua
Corporation buildings

* accommodate parking needs of busi-
nesses at Railroad Square

* introduce minimal negative impacts
on surrounding neighborhoods

* have multiple access and egress
points

* minimize the negative impact on
Railroad Square traffic flow
minimize property acquisition, espe-

cially that of affordable housing.

Broad Street Parkway
Directly serving this area of Downtown,
the Broad Street Parkway must fulfill a
number of needs:
provide access to important redevel-
opment sites
become a development address
address issues of air quality by
improving traffic congestion at Rail-
road Square

* serve as a framework for a trail con-

Four potential sites for
parking garage