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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

URBAN DESIGN ASSOCIATES

Parking Strategy
Upon completion of the
proposed garages, the
Downtown core will be
well served with
parking, as denoted by
five minute walking

radii. (left)

A well-defined parking
lot in the beart of
Lowell, Massachusetts
illustrates that small,
surface parking areas
can be tucked in and
around buildings and
landscaped creating a
pleasant street wall.

(right)

behind buildings, are more effective and
efficient than fewer larger lots, but the
location and availability may be difficult
to discern for visitors.

On-street parking should be intro-
duced wherever possible. If peak hour
traffic flow is an issue, parking can be
prohibited during rush hours. Cars
parked on the street provide convenient
short-term parking as well as acting as a
traffic calming barrier between cars and

pedestrians.

No new parking garages are immediately
needed. There is adequate parking to
serve today’s inventory of occupied com-
mercial/office/retail space as well as to

absorb the current vacancies (approxi-

Nashua Downtown Master Plan

mately 200,000 sq..ft. of 60
commercial/office/retail space). How-
ever, implementation of the Master Plan
will further intensify downtown uses and
necessitate the conversion of some sur-
face lots to structured lots. The Master
Plan proposes five potential sites for
parking garages. These new parking
garages, combined with the three exist-
ing garages will adequately serve down-
town upon build-out. The proposed
locations will correspond with places
where there is a current parking deficit,
or where new development will generate
future parking demand. With two
garages currently located on the west side
of Main Street, priority should be given
to a new structure on the east side of
Main Street. Any new parking facility
should be matched with a private sector
initiative. Parking should be shared to

balance the daytime and evening uses.

Spring Street Institutional Spine

The Master Plan proposes Spring Street
as an institutional spine. Currently sev-
eral public buildings are located along
Spring Street. However, they are not
connected to each other or related to

Main Street or the neighborhoods.

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DESIGN ASSOCIATES

A streetscaping program will create an
appropriate setting for the five public
buildings located on Spring Street.
Also, four additional sites along
Spring Street have been identified for
public buildings. One of the sites could

be used for the relocation of Saint

Patrick’s Gymnasium from Main Street.

Moving the gymnasium to this site

maintains the facility's adjacency to the
parish but rebuilds it on a more appro-
ptiate site and frees up the Main Street

site for a town green, or Commons.

Nashua Downtown Master Plan

Spring Street

Institutional Spine
Anchored on the north
by the Performing Arts
Center, an improved
Spring Street is an
ideal address for civic

and public buildings.

UR EAN DESIGN assocrates Nashua Downtown Master Plan

vi Main Street South

MAIN STREET SOUTH — or “Driving Main Street” — stands in 62
sharp contrast to Main Street North or “Walking Main
Street.” Main Street South has an exceedingly wide road, a
large number of auto-dependent uses, and the absence of an
intact historic fabric. Historically, Main Street South was resi-
dential, not commercial. However, over time, as traffic volumes
increased, Downtown commercial uses grew south towards
Salmon Brook. A few grand houses and apartment buildings
still exist; however, most have been demolished. Main Street
South was formerly identified by Salmon Brook and its wet-
lands. However, the wetlands have since been filled and the
stream was covered and culverted by the Globe Plaza (now
Main Street Marketplace) in the 1960's.

TW Main Street South

UR EAN DESIGN assocrates Nashua Downtown Master Plan

Main Street South can become an
important part of the overall Downtown

experience, its retail strategy, and its cir-

culation and park system. The half-mile
length of Main Street South should be

developed as a series of spatial experi-

ences varying one’s perception of the 63
long straight road, not as a single mono-

lithic avenue. The initiatives contained in

the following pages develop Main Street

South as a progression of unique places

with a mix of uses.

Main Street South
A Streetscape program
B Redevelopment sites
C Salmon Brook Park

UR EAN DESIGN assocrates Nashua Downtown Master Plan

Streetscape Program

‘The Master Plan recommends the City
undertake a comprehensive streetscape
and road improvement program for
Main Street between Hollis Street and
Allds Street. Creating a high quality
pedestrian environment does not require
major traffic flow modifications. The

Master Plan proposes preserving the cur-

rent lane configuration. The moving and 64
turning lanes that exist today, will

remain. However, the curb should be

moved east or west 8’ to create on-street

parking lanes wherever possible. The

parking would be set between bulb-outs

at the corners in order to minimize the

pedestrian crossing distance of Main

Street. Easements or acquisition of prop-

Main Street South
Existing (left)

Proposed (right)