Getting rolling on river plans (Senior Citizen Apartment Complex)

By ANDREW NELSON, Telegraph Staff nelsona@telegraph-nh.com NASHUA – The future of the Nashua River and its role in downtown life is on the menu for a two-day workshop later this week. Folks who live and play downtown can brainstorm about possibilities from riverfront parks and a boathouse to neighborhood connections to the river. “All of that should be part of the discussion,” said Community Development Director Kathy Hersh. Urban planners are hosting two days of brainstorming, called a charrette, Friday and Saturday, concluding with a presentation to spotlight the ideas. The sessions are Friday from 3-4:30 p.m. and 7-9 p.m., and Saturday from 3-5 p.m., all at the Hunt Memorial Building. The community development division and Plan NH are doing the work that will end up being a guidebook for future development of the area. Participants may come and go as their schedules allow, adding their contributions at any time, Hersh said. In 2003, the city-adopted downtown master plan noted that parks along the Nashua River would become the city’s most valuable investments. The master plan envisioned a playfield, an outdoor amphitheater and other amenities near the Front Street riverbank, with the proposed Nashua Heritage and Innovation Center on the south side of the river. A master plan acts as a blueprint for a community’s future. City administrators, businesses and real estate developers use it to make development decisions. In stages, some of the projects are under way. A new 43-unit senior citizen apartment complex and a new Senior Activities Center are scheduled to be finished by next fall. A $1.3 million walkway along the north bank of the Nashua River is being constructed. Hersh said the goal is to put details behind the general concepts outlined in the master plan, from the type of material best used for a walking path to whether the amenities along the river walk should reflect the neighborhood’s history. Source: Nashua Telegraph