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UR EAN DESIGN assocrates Nashua Downtown Master Plan

Iv Railroad Square

RAILROAD SQUARE 18 AN urban design landmark located at the 50
confluence of four regional arterials. With four high-volume
arterials converging into a small area bound on one side by

water, Railroad Square performs admirably, as it delicately bal-
ances the heavy impacts of regional through-traffic on all four
arterials with an environment that is surprisingly pedestrian-
friendly. The challenge of Railroad Square will be to establish

it as Main Street’s northernmost retail node, while maintaining

its status as an historic pedestrian-friendly place.

Railroad Square

DESIGN ASSOCIATES

Development Opportunities
Most of the buildings on Railroad
Square are worthy of preservation. While
several buildings may be renovated, one
site is identified for new construction. It
is important that new construction as
well as renovation adhere to strict archi-
tectural design guidelines, based on
Nashua’s historic architectural traditions.

The most important renovation proj-
ect will be the Laton Hotel. Specifically,
the striking double-level porch should be
restored

In order for Railroad Square to real-
ize its potential as Main Street’s north-
ernmost retail node, additional parking
resources will be required. The Master
Plan identifies four possible locations for
parking structures that could serve the
businesses at Railroad Square, as well as

other uses.

Nashua Downtown Master Plan

Veterans Park 51
Ifa new parking structure is built for

Railroad Square businesses, the parking

lot defining the north edge of Deschene’s

should be rebuilt as a through lane with

on-street parking. It should be built as

narrow as possible to discourage cut-

through traffic, yet define the park more

clearly and publicly.

Laton Hotel

The full front porch of
the Laton Hotel should
be restored to its

original elegance.

Riverfront West
and Railroad
Square Parking
Four potential sites for
a parking structure are
identified (as dotted
bowes}.. The structure
must serve both the
redevelopment of the
Nashua Corporation
buildings, as well as

Railroad Square.

UR EAN DESIGN assocrates Nashua Downtown Master Plan

v. Main Street North

MAIN STREET NORTH 18 healthy. Also referred to as “walking 52
Main Street”, there are almost no retail vacancies, sidewalks are
active, and there is a vibrant mix of retail, offices and restau-

rants. Behind Main Street on both sides, however, significant
attention is required. The seam between the neighborhoods

and Main Street North is ragged. Spring Street and Elm Street

are characterized by disinvestment, surface parking lots, and

unpaired and confusing one-way streets.

7 Main Street North

UREAN

DESIGN ASSOCIATES

Streetscaping

Maintenance and upgrades to the
streetscape of Main Street is critical.
Begun in the early 1980's, the streetscape
program has been a great success. The
comfortably wide sidewalks, warm red
bricks, and the canopy of street trees cre-
ate a pedestrian environment that has
been instrumental in Main Street’s resur-

gence over the past 15 years. However,

Nashua Downtown Master Plan

some sidewalk bricks have been dis-

lodged and many of the street furnish-
ings are either historically inappropriate,
poorly located, or in general disrepair.

Basic upkeep and selective improve-
ments to the streetscape on Main Street
North are as critical today as the intro-
duction of these standards 20 years ago.
If the public sector falls behind in its

responsibility, the private sector will not

Main Street North 53
A Main Street North
Streetscaping

B Relocation of Joanne’
Kitchen

C Spring Street
Institutional Spine

D Citizen's Bank site

E New Nashua
Commons

F SENHMC
expansion

G Redevelopment of
existing buildings

Main Street North

URBAN DESIGN ASSOCIATES

Benches

Several benches along
Main Street are poorly
located. Benches that
face traffic or are located
in the middle of
sidewalks are rarely
used, Where possible,
benches should either be
paired, facing each
other, or they should be
located with their backs
to storefronts.

Diagrams
Inappropriate bench
location (below left}

Appropriate bench
location (below right}

re-invest. The Master Plan therefore rec-
ommends pursuing a responsible mainte-
nance and upgrade program for

streetscaping on Main Street North as an
early action item for the City. At a mini-

mum, “responsible maintenance” should

include annual inspection of sidewalk

Nashua Downtown Master Plan

conditions following the spring thaw and 54
immediate replacement of damaged

pavers. In addition, the City should con-

sider utilizing a more delicate sidewalk

sweeper, one that does not damage the

pavers as it cleans them.

Pavers and grates on
Main Street in need of

replacement

DESIGN ASSOCIATES

Pedestrian Connectivity
The Library Walk is a great success. It
provides pedestrian access through
Nashua's long blocks to destinations
located one block behind Main Street.
More such connections are required in
order to connect and stimulate invest-
ment along Spring and Elm Streets.
The Master Plan recommends creat-
ing five additional through-block pedes-
trian connections: two on the interior of
buildings, and three exterior. The exterior
pedestrian paths should be public, well-
lit, and modeled after the successful
Library Walk. The interior paths require
partnerships with private building own-
ers. They should be integrated with the
interior circulation through a lobby or

public corridor.

Hollis and Main Street Intersection:
The Region’s 100% Corner

‘There is no more important intersection
to redevelop in Nashua than the intersec-
tion of Hollis and Main Streets. The
intersection is the region's “100% corner,”
as it creates gateways to Main Street
from the east and west and south.

All four corners of this intersection
are currently underutilized and under-
performing. In a City with limited avail-
able land and relatively low-scale
buildings, three of the four corners pres-
ent opportunities to add significant
square footage to the Downtown inven-
tory of office, retail, institutional, and
cultural space without creating an inap-
propriately sized building. Downtown's

largest new buildings should be sited at

Nashua Downtown Master Plan

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A Through an existing 55
building

B In place of the
relocated Joanne’s
Kitchen

CA new lane beside
relocated parking

D Along side of the
church

E Through new
Downtown common
F An extension of the
rail trail

New Pedestrian
Connections
Several new pedestrian
connections (similar to
Library Walk and
shown in red) should be
created to improve the
permeability of Main
Street’ long blocks,

UREAN

Ffollis and Main
Street: The region’
100% Corner

DESIGN ASSOCIATES

this intersection. A series of distinct, 4-
to 6-story, mixed-use buildings wold cre-
ate a center to the Downtown. They
buildings would anchor both ends of
Main Street by creating a strong center.
and transform an anonymous intersec-

tion into the region’s symbolic heart.

‘The most important site at Nashua’s
100% intersection is the northeast corner
of Hollis and Main Streets - commonly
referred to as the Citizen’s Bank site.
‘This site has an address on two of the
busiest arterials in Nashua (Main Street
and Hollis) and is a gateway to the
Downtown. Additionally, with the Main
Street Marketplace under reconstruction,
it is the largest remaining developable
site fronting Main Street. The long term
redevelopment of the Citizen’s Bank site
must establish the standard for all other
development in Nashua because it is a
front door to the region. It should leave a

positive legacy for years to come.

Nashua Downtown Master Plan

In December 2002, Citizen's Bank
secured approval for plans to build a sin-
gle story bank with drive through facili-
ties. This building should be considered

an interim solution for this important

56

Main Street as a
Series of Rooms
The entire length of
Main Street should be
designed as a series of
rooms and experiences,
not asa single
monolithic avenue.

A Railroad Square

B Main Street North
C 100% Corner: Hollis
Main Street
Intersection

D Transitional area:
Flollis to Otterson
Streets

E Secondary retail
node: Main Street
marketplace

F Southern Gateway:

Salmon Brook

The intersection of
Flollis and Main
Streets as it exists today:
an under-developed
intersection dominated
by high volumes of
through traffic.

URBAN DESIGN ASSOCIATES

site. When market forces dictate redevel-
opment of the site, the City should part-
ner with Citizen's bank to create a legacy
project.

The public outreach process and the
market study both conclude that this site
would be best developed as a mix of uses,
including a ground floor bank, and
anchored by an institutional use such as a
a downtown campus for an area college.
Such a use would bring a diverse group
of people into the area at all hours,
enforcing the desire of developing
Nashua as a “24-hour city”.

As an educational building, class-
rooms would occupy the upper floors of
the buildings with Main Street retail at
the ground level. This configuration
allows for active, pedestrian-oriented
uses on the street to add to the already
healthy street-life on Main Street North.
Also, providing for retail uses on the
ground level allows for businesses and
restaurants to be open and active after
office hours.

The site north of the Citizen’s Bank

site can also be integrated into an

Nashua Downtown Master Plan

amenity for Main Street. The potential 57
relocation of Saint Patrick's gymnasium

to Spring Street provides a proper civic

greenspace for the City of Nashua. The

desire for outdoor, public space is great in

the City, and this resource would provide

a new “Commons” for Nashua.

Southeast Comer of Hollis Street and
Main Street

To truly create a 100% corner at Hollis
and Main, the southeast corner of the
intersection should also be a redevelop-
ment opportunity. At present, this site
houses a service station, a drugstore, a
few miscellaneous businesses and restau-
rants, and surface parking for Southeast
New Hampshire Medical Center
(SENHMC). Constitution Plaza occu-
pies the other corner of the site, that of
Main and Kinsley Streets, though few
would know it is there amidst the unco-
ordinated land uses. The proposed build-
ing configurations will not only define
the corner of Hollis and Main Streets as
a gateway, but with ground floor retail

uses they will encourage pedestrian-ori-

ented street-life.

Citizen's Bank Site,
Short Term Vision: A
bank with a drive

through facility. (left}

Citizen's Bank Site,
Long Term Vision:
Redevelopment as an
Educational Complex
with ground floor retail
and Main Street
Commons (right)

UREAN

DESIGN ASSOCIATES

Nashua Downtown Master Plan

The proposed buildings would have Hilustrative Plan ofa 58
retail businesses at street level with redeveloped Efollis and
offices above. The offices could be used Main Street
by the hospital, or physicians offices, or ntersection
other businesses seeking office space in
the heart of Downtown.

At the easternmost part of the block,

a parking garage is proposed to accom-
modate current parking needs for
SENHMC as well as addressing parking
requirements of other uses on the block.
And most importantly, Constitution
Plaza will be surrounded by public uses
te provide a more defined, Proper eavie Analysis and public testimony sup-
ronment for community gathering. .

port the fact that there is not a shortage
Parking Strategy of parking, but rather that the existing
Easy access to parking was identified by parking supply is not well-managed,
many as a problem in Downtown coordinated or visible. Therefore, simply
Nashua. Currently, there are approxi- providing more parking would not only
mately 3,500 parking spaces and 850,000 _ fail to solve the parking problem, but it
square feet of retail/office/commercial would conceivably create additional
space in Downtown. This is over 4 spaces problems in Downtown.
per 1000 square feet - a more than ade- Parking issues should be addressed
quate supply for an downtown that on two fronts. First, the current parking
aspires to be pedestrian friendly, mixed resources should be better organized and
use, dense and urban so supply is not the managed. Second, new parking should be
problem. carefully and selectively added to proper

Existing conditions at c I) Proposed redevelopment
Hollis Street and Main of Hbllis Street and

Street Main Street

Nashua Downtown Master Plan

locations when it is needed. Determina-
tion of need should consider issues such
as the deleterious effect of excess park-
ing, the potential impacts on surrounding
properties, and the need to create a dense
unique urban environment for Down-

town.

Currently the 3,500 parking spaces
downtown are scattered throughout
downtown in private and public lots,
large and small lots, metered and free
lots, on streets, and in public and private
structures. Existing parking resources
must be more effectively managed. This
should be a priority, initially, over build-
ing more spaces.

As an inexpensive first step, the City
should implement a wayfinding and sig-
nage system to help visitors to Down-
town have better access to the City’s
parking supply. In addition, parking lots
and sidewalks should be designed with
comfortable pathways, trees, and lighting
in order to maximize their use.

A second step should be to organize
and manage the current parking space -
both public and private. Metered spaces
should be used for short-term parking.
They should be the most expensive cost
to park per hour, and have a limit of two
hours. Because they are the most accessi-
ble and important to retail, the metered
spaces should encourage a high turnover
of users.

The parking garages should be used
by employees and for longer-term park-
ing. Upper floors of garages, the least

convenient spaces, should be reserved for 59
employees who park all day.. They can be

leased out to business owners, thereby

freeing up their on-site spaces and street

spaces for customers. Lower levels of

garages should be used for both long

term and short term parking.

The City should enter into discussions
with owners of large parking lots and
parking structures (SENHMC, BAE
Systems, Indian Head Plaza, etc) in
order to allow these facilities to be used
at “non peak” times.

For example, the Performing Arts
Center (PAC) may require very little new
parking if the unused evening capacity of
the BAE parking lot (connected to the
PAC with a walkway atop the dam) and
the Indian Head Plaza are utilized. Both
are within a five minute walk of the pro-

posed PAC.

Limited surface parking located on street
or in small lots is important for retailers
in Downtown Nashua. The spaces are
easy to use, have a rapid turnover, and are
readily accessible in small lots, behind
buildings or mid-block. They lots should
be well-designed and have clear pedes-
trian connections to sidewalks and paths.
Many of downtown Nashua’s parking
spaces are scattered throughout the
downtown in small and large lots. The
dozens of small parking lots provide an
efficiency and efficacy that belies their

size. Many smaller lots, tucked away and