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UR EAN DESIGN assocrares Nashua Downtown Master Plan

dents, stakeholders, investors, and leaders
of the City. The public involvement
process included twenty focus groups,
three public meetings, and a four day
public, open design charette. In sum,
over 200 individuals took part in the
process.

A market study was conducted to
establish the feasibility of residential and
commercial markets within the five to
ten-year time horizon of this Plan. The
market study concluded that the residen-
tial market is, and will continue to be,
Downtown’s strongest market. Due to
the narrow marketing and appeal of sub-
urban housing, there is a pent up
demand for a wider range of housing
types and markets in Downtown,
Nashua, including condominiums and
affordable housing. Another strong mar-

ket is educational, cultural and institu-

tional uses. These uses, though often

non-profit and sometimes subsidized, are
critical to diversifying Downtown’s offer-
ings and to supporting Downtown retail.
The office and hotel market were not
seen as vibrant.

The market study and the public
process both recommended that the City
focus its efforts on initiatives that are
inclusive of all residents of Nashua, not
simply a narrow slice of the population.
Although Main Street remains the focus
of Downtown, many of the Plan’s recom-
mended actions concentrate on areas
beyond the lively sidewalks of Main
Street. Specifically, the Master Plan
addresses areas along the Nashua River,
Main Street South of City Hall, and
areas to the east and west of Main Street.
Design interventions at these areas are
the key to broadening Downtown’s

appeal, maximizing its market potential,

Riverfront North,
behind Cattleman’s
Restaurant

(existing: top left}
(proposed: bottom left}

Aerial Perspective of
Downtown Nashua
(existing: top right)
(proposed initiatives
bighlighted: bottom
right)

URBAN DESIGN ASSOCIATES

and distinguishing it from other cities in

the region.

Initiatives

Nashua has been successful in building
on its strengths and finding ways to
bring private, locally-based efforts
together to create a whole that is greater
than any single part. Main Street North
between City Hall and the River is an

example.

A vibrant Main Street has been created
by
- public investments in streetscaping that

improve the pedestrian experience

- private building renovations that build

Nashua Downtown Master Plan

upon the City’s architectural charac-
ter

- locally based investors and entrepre-
neurs willing to provide a product
distinct from competing suburbs and
malls.

- an aggressive and innovative schedule
of events that showcase Nashua as
the center of the region
Main Street North has become the

anchor for a wide range of new uses that

bundle restaurants, entertainment, and
retail together as sustainable develop-
ment in Downtown Nashua.

This Plan connects complimentary

Downtown businesses and destinations

West
Property located in the
flood plain will be
redeveloped into a

riverfront park,
Riverfront West

Existing Condition
(top)

Riverfront West

Proposed

Redevelopment
(bottom)

URBAN DESIGN ASSOCIATES

to create a series of initiatives around
which different activities and develop-
ments are organized. Private efforts,
along with public improvements and
public/private partnerships have been
formulated into five initiatives for the
City:

1 Riverfront West

2 Riverfront East

3 Railroad Square

4 Main Street North
5 Main Street South
Frameworks

In order to support these five initiatives,

the Plan recommends improving upon

Nashua Downtown Master Plan

and creating a series of frameworks that

connect different parts of Downtown.

The frameworks, focusing on connectiv-

ity, are designed to:

* continually enhance the pedestrian
experience on the streets of Down-
town

* support and extend the system of
bikeways and trails that link the areas
of Downtown to each other, as well
as the neighborhoods, and to the
region’s remarkable recreational and
heritage amenities

* clarify pedestrian and vehicular circu-
lation through an incremental

process of converting one-way streets

Main Street South
New Streetscaping and
redeveloped parking lots
will transform Main
Street South into a
pedestrian friendly
shopping street.

Existing Condition
(top)

Proposed

(bottom)

Nashua Downtown Master Plan

to two-way streets

* establish an alternative for the Broad
Street Parkway that provides access
to development parcels, connects the
trail system, and improves congestion
at Railroad Square

* create guidelines for architectural
character consistent with the tradi-
tion of the City and the objectives of
the Plan.

The Plan will be implemented over 10
years. Upon completion, approximately
500 new residential units, and 500,000
new square feet of
commercial/retail/office and institutional
space will be added to Downtown
Nashua. In addition, with construction of
new riverfront parks, Performing Arts
Center, Center for Nashua Heritage and
Future Technology, regional and local
trail connections, the Downtown will
become the region's center for cultural,
entertainment and recreational networks.
The primary projects to be com-
pleted within three years of adoption of
this Plan will include
- Main Street South Streetscape

(Design and Engineering)

- Bronstein Homes (Design and Hope
VI Application)

- Broad Street Parkway (Design and
Engineering)

- One Way Street Conversion Study

- Center for Nashua Heritage and
Future Technology (fundraising)

Implementation of the Master Plan
will create two legacies. The first legacy
will be a completely revitalized Down-
town with a diversified economy that
benefits all residents of Nashua. Down-
town Nashua will solidify itself as soul of
the region,; it will become an indispensa-
ble component to the region’s superior
quality of life.

Equally important to the historic
legacy described above, will be the legacy
of new partnerships and civic coopera-
tion that are essential to and will result
from implementation of this Plan. The
Plan should not be thought of as simply
a way to spend public resources - rather
it should be thought of as a way to form
partnerships, increase investor confi-
dence, raise capital, with the purpose of
leveraging public investments.

The ideas set forth in this Plan come
from the vested interests of the City's
diverse body of residents and investors.
The realization of these ideas rely on a
coordinated, cooperative and active pub-
lic sector working in tandem with a
entrepreneurial private sector. The results
of this private-public partnership will be
a lively and vibrant Downtown for all
Nashuans; a place which embodies both
its history as well as the future aspira-

tions of the region.

s Nashua Downtown Master Plan

Ts ie

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Site Analysis

Nashua Downtown Master Plan

I X-Rays A UDA X-RAY DRAWING ALLOws the Design team to better IO
understand the study area, as well as illustrating for city resi-
dents and stakeholders the myriad assets and natural patterns
found throughout the City. An X-Ray drawing isolates a phys-
ical element or category of land use (such as streets) to illus~
trate patterns and opportunities difficult to perceive when
combined in a single drawing. By studying the various natural
and man-made systems, urban designers can unveil the under-
lying patterns, problems, and opportunities of a project area.
Often, from these natural, historic, and development patterns,
the beginnings of strategies and solutions emerge.
UDA X-Rays are drawn at several scales. By examining the
site within the context of the region, city, and immediate study
area, one can begin to see the physical forces that impact and
influence it. In the case of Nashua’s Downtown, X-Ray draw-
ings at the regional scale illustrate the City’s strategic location
within the region, while X-Rays at the site scale depict the
immediate patterns of the built and natural landscape within
the boundaries of the City.
The study area for the
Plan is centered on ; *
Main Street but
extends east and west
to include the adjacent
neighborboods and cross
streets— the extent of
the historic and
traditional

Downtown.

URBAN DESIGN ASSOCIATES

Regional Locator
Map

(top left)

Located just north of
the Massachusetts state
border, Nashua is the
outermost major city in
the Boston “tommuter-
shed.”

Regional Natural
Features

(bottom left}

Located at the
confluence of the
Merrimack and
Nashua rivers, the City
is connected to
watersheds and natural
systems that reach out to
the region in every

direction.

Nashua Downtown Master Plan

Turnpil

|
Everett |

is \\

e Hi
(top right)
The City of Nashua is
located at the
convergence of several
arterial roads, each
well-connected to the

Interstates.

Regional Streets
(bottom right}

Main Street is one of
only two surface road
crossings of the Nashua
River within the City.
Downtown Nashua
comprises a collection of
colliding, irregular grids
and connective arterial
roads.

The suburban street
pattern, where most of
the new growth has
occurred in the last 10 -
20 years is distinctly
different than the urban
arid of the bistoric town

URBAN DESIGN ASSOCIATES

Topography

(top left)

The Downtown gently
slopes to the Nashua
River from the south,
with the land dropping
more steeply to the river
on its north side. The
lowland stretching from
the Nashua River to
Salmon Brook
represents unstable soils
for development and
bas therefore historically

been an industrial area.

Commercial
(middle left)

Main Street retail
development north of
Hollis Street is a
relatively dense
concentration of small-
scale, street-oriented
buildings that form
pedestrian-scaled spaces.
South of Hollis Street,
the commercial
buildings on Main
Street are scaled to the

automobile.

Residential

(bottom left}

Many of the City’
neighborboods are
intact; however, their
edges are frayed.
Nashua’s neighborhoods
engage neither the river,

nor Main Street. .

Nashua Downtown Master Plan

Streets RQ
(top right)

The street framework of
Downtown Nashua is
comprised of several
grids, South of the
Nashua River, the grids
are organized relative

to Main Street. North
of the river, the street
grids respond to the
several diagonal
arterials that converge

at Railroad Square.

Building Footprint
and Flood Plain
(middle right)
Downtown is generally
comprised of medium ~
sized commercial
buildings, small-scale
residential buildings,
and long, linear
industrial buildings.
Several of the original
Nashua Manufacturing
Company buildings,
now conuerted to other
uses, were originally
built in the 10-year
flood plain (shown in
light blue)

Neighborhoods
(bottom right}

The neighborhoods of
Downtown Nashua are
delineated by the
arterials and corridors
that carry cross town

tr

URBAN DESIGN ASSOCIATES

Institutions and
Open Space

(top left)

The core of Downtown
Nashua has many
institutional buildings
(purple) but no central
park or public gathering
space. The beginnings of
a network of trails (red
dots) follow the natural
areas along the Nashua
River and the

abandoned rail line.

Parking

(bottom left}

Surface parking lots
(light grey) are a
dominant land use in
much of Downtown.
Only a fow parking
garages (dark grey)
presently exist forcing
much valuable
Downtown real estate
to be used as surface

parking.

Nashua Downtown Master Plan

Industrial B
(top right)

Industrial uses

dominate the edges of

the Nashua River and

rail lines. Throughout

the City, many of the
former industrial uses

have been converted to

offices or commercial

space.

Connectivity

(bottom right}

Despite having tight
grids of streets and
being located at the
traditional center of the
City, few streets extend
beyond the Downtown.

UR EAN DESIGN assocrares Nashua Downtown Master Plan

II Precedents THE BEST DESIGN SOLUTIONS emerge from the inherent pat- Wy
terns and vernacular of a region. Nashua is one of several Mer-
rimack Valley river towns unique even within the greater
region of which it is a part. Planned as settlements to support
the textile manufacturing industry in New England in the early
nineteenth century, Nashua and its sister cities along the Mer-
rimack River are strikingly similar in their history and plan-
ning. By studying the original urban form and the
redevelopment that has occurred along the Merrimack Valley
as the economy and development base has changed over time,
Nashua can develop strategies to root itself in its unique past
while planning for an ever-changing future.

Other Merrimack Valley cities similar in both form and
history to Nashua, such as Lowell, Lawrence, and Haverhill,
provide precedents of exemplary spaces, development strate-

gies, urban design approaches steeped in a similar regional fla-

vor and industrial past.