Lebanon
An arts walk, completed rail trail and riverfront homes and businesses could all become mainstays of the downtown core, according to the draft released last week. But the projects also will cost millions of dollars and likely are decades from fruition.
“Those are all possible and they are really predicated in the interest and willingness to support those kinds of changes,” said David Brooks, the city’s planning director.
The report is the culmination of a months long process to find a unified vision for downtown. Completed by the Massachusetts-based consulting firm Vanasse Hangen Brustlin, its near completion is the result of thousands of public comments, three public forums and months of work.
“Hopefully it reflects what we’ve heard from (people) in terms of preference and desires about what the downtown should be and how it should work,” Brooks said. “The hard work begins now.”
The report calls for a large increase in development around downtown, calling for the city to encourage private development of new buildings intended to draw visitors and provide new housing.
First on the construction list is a three- to four-story building near what the consultants call the “Mascoma Overlook,” a planned park that borders the river and pedestrian mall. At around 21,000-square-feet, it would add about 15 to 25 housing units and possibly two to five restaurants or retail stores, depending on its configuration.
Consultants propose then constructing two more mixed-use buildings in the area of the mall and Flynn Street. As a long-term project, the additional space could create 150 new housing units with views of the river.
New buildings on Spencer Street and North Hanover Street are also included in the report. All together, the developments would likely create a lack of parking, which is why consultants recommend construction of a parking garage on a lot behind City Hall.
A large emphasis in the report is placed on establishing Lebanon’s downtown as a cultural hub. The creation of a Downtown Arts Walk, the report states, would help connect all of the area’s attractions for visitors.
The walk would begin at an open space overlooking the Mascoma River at Hanover Street, then connect to the mall and continue to Colburn Park. Ultimately, it would end at the AVA Gallery and Arts Center, and also direct people to the library and post office.
“Distinguished by consistently walkable design, active public spaces and public art, the welcoming quarter-mile walking route will link features that currently feel separated,” the report says.
Brooks said those features include the Lebanon Opera House, the pedestrian mall’s businesses and future developments. Being able to walk easily between each would “highlight the arts community that we have in town.”
Those arts will be promoted by a new downtown association, the report recommends. A paid executive director would be able to promote downtown and coordinate with city officials in ways past volunteer organizations weren’t able to, it argues.
“The idea here is to create a little bit more of a formal organization to help promote, and market and manage the downtown area,” Brooks said, adding the city would look to successful examples already working in Keene, Concord and Manchester.
Other pedestrian improvements, like completion of the Mascoma River Greenway, are also listed in the report. The greenway, which will connect the Northern Rail Trail downtown to West Lebanon, was partially responsible for the study.
Consultants and the city began looking at a larger vision for downtown after finding a downtown rail tunnel was dilapidated. The report recommends upgrading that tunnel and using it in the final trail at the cost of about $2 million.
“The tunnel needs to be addressed in some fashion regardless of what we do but we feel like this plan allows the city to sort of have some control over when and how those changes are made,” Brooks said.
The report also includes plans to reconfigure and improve area roadways. That includes better sidewalks, crosswalks and bike lanes on Hanover Street, along with proposals for a new rotary at the intersection of Hanover and High streets.
The roundabout itself could cost upwards of $1.5 million, the report states, and plans to reconfigure other intersections could also come to that amount. A new traffic pattern around Colburn Park is also likely to cost a minimum of $500,000 each for South, East and West Park streets.
Much of the project is expected to cost the city millions to complete over the next two decades. Plans in the report estimate it could cost $2 million for the parking garage and at least $200,000 each for many of the streetscaping projects.
The city could pay for some of that with grants, but the report recommends it also create a TIF, or tax increment finance, district, which use additional tax revenue within the district to pay off any borrowing
According to the report, there is space for plenty of growth to pay the bills. It estimates downtown has room for about 180 more multi-family units, in addition to the 476 units already in the area.
There’s also space for an additional 22,000-square-feet of office space — up from the current 172,000-square-feet — and another 25,000-square-feet of retail, about a third of existing retail businesses.
“… Downtown is a built environment with few vacant parcels available for development,” the report states. “Rather, new investment will consist of re-use of current under utilized parcels, such as the public works facility and possibly portions of the existing river front parking lots.”
The draft report is expected to go before the City Council on Wednesday, and it will ultimately be the city’s job to determine which recommendations to follow.
“I’m very pleased with the way that it’s put together and the emphasis it puts on a long-term vision with some very specific recommendations for our immediate needs,” said Mayor Georgia Tuttle.
It’s necessary for Lebanon to continue growing, she said, and the city has long wanted to look at how it can encourage mixed-use development.
The draft brings that just one step closer, she added.
“I would emphasize the implementation of this plan would be incremental,” Tuttle said, adding it could take the next two decades to accomplish many of its goals.
People can find a copy of the report and a comment form on the city’s website at lebnh.net.
Tim Camerato can be reached at tcamerato@vnews.com or 603-727-3223.