Riverwalk plan due next month

Preliminary plans for the downtown riverwalk, stretching alongside both banks of the Winnipesaukee River from Fair Street to Church Street, were unveiled at a workshop last week.

Peter Howe and Kevin Gagne, consulting engineers with of Fay, Spofford and Thorndike of Bedford, New Hampshire, offered a "before and after" PowerPoint presentation featuring photographs of the route as it exists today followed by simulated images of the project as envisioned.

City Manager Eileen Cabanel said that the design phase of the project was being financed with approximately $20,000 in excess proceeds from municipal bonds sold to fund "downtown improvements." The City Council has committed to funding the project with the revenue from the downtown Tax Increment Financing District (TIF), which is projected to amount to about $100,000 a year.

Tax increment financing applies a portion of the additional tax revenue accruing from the construction of new buildings as well as the expansion and renovation of existing properties within a defined area to finance public improvements within the borders TIF district. The riverwalk lies entirely within the downtown TIF, which the City Council created in 2004.

"It is a first draft," said Kevin Dunleavy of the Department of Public Works, who is overseeing the design and engineering of the riverwalk. "There will be some minor changes and we'll be making decisions about the both the materials and design of things like lighting, benches and signage."

The riverwalk is broken into four stages, two along each bank of the river. On the north bank of the river the stages reach from the boat launch, soon to be opened at the foot of Water Street, to the Main Street bridge and from there to Church Street. On the south bank, one stage runs between the Fair Street and Main Street bridges and the other between the Main Street and Church street bridges.

Much of the route on the north bank of the river crosses property owned by the city and includes the stretch already constructed at the Beacon Street West development, where an easement was negotiated with Chinburg Builders, the firm that is renovating and converting the old Allen-Rogers property.

On the south bank, apart from Stewart Park and a stretch along River Street, much of the route would cross private property, which will require negotiating easements and, where easements cannot be secured, developing alternative alternative routes that would take the path away from the river.

The Landmark Inn, which is partner to plans to build a Walgreen's drugstore at Court and Main Streets, has granted an easement for the riverwalk as part of its bargain with the city to realign Row Court. Discussions are underway with Laconia Mill Associates, LLC, the owners of the former F.W. Webb building, and Caro Properties, the owners of the building at 84 Union Avenue — both of which front the river on either side of the Avery Dam— to determine if the riverwalk can be incorporated into the redevelopment of the properties.

Howe and Gagne singled out a number of "pinch points," where solutions would have to be found to route the pathway over or around obstacles. For example, to overcome the change in elevation at the Main Street bridge a set of switchbacks or an inclined ramp would be needed to ensure access, especially for the handicapped.

However, Dunleavy noted that apart from paving and lighting the riverwalk itself, much of the project involves landscaping. For example, a number of spaces in the parking lot at City Hall would be eliminated and replaced by a lawn alongside the riverwalk. He said that while the city plans to undertake much of the construction work, it is anticipated that local businesses and civic organizations will contribute to the plantings as well as amenities like benches and signage. Warren Clement of the Laconia Rotary Club, which developed Rotary Riverside Park on the site of an old municipal parking lot, said that the organization plans to invest in the refurbishment of Stewart Park (across the river), the site of a proposed amphitheater.

Dunleavy explained that the entire project will be divided into segments to fit within the budget set by the flow of revenue from the TIF district. He said that Fay, Spofoird and Thorndike will present the final riverwalk development plan by the end of July, which will include a preliminary estimate of the cost of construction.

Cabanel said Friday that it would also be within the Council's prerogative to borrow the money to complete the entire project in the short-term and use the TIF funds to service the resulting debt.