New Parking, Tannery River Walk Coming to Penacook

On Oct. 11, the Concord City Council approved the purchase of in Penacook for the construction of a new parking lot and a scenic river walk along the .

The parcels are situated between an apartment building and the Chief’s Restaurant and the abandoned three-plus acre tannery parcel, which the city has spent years promoting as a possible development site. The parking lot will feature more than 60 parking spaces to replace about 17 spaces that will be lost when the intersection of Canal and Village streets is redesigned.

The five foot wide river walk, as currently proposed, will stretch from the area behind Chief’s, along the river, and into the north end of the tannery parcel.

The area represents more than four acres and 250 feet of river frontage, according to Matt Walsh, the city’s assistant for special projects. When completed and combined with other parcels, the walkway will feature more than 500 feet of river frontage.

“The city has long been interested in these parcels since it became involved in the tannery project eight or nine years ago now,” he said.

The city would finance the construction of the walk and the parking lot through the Penacook TIF district, according to Walsh. The parcels will cost the city $99,000, down from an asking price of $125,000. It’s currently assessed at $93,900. The TIF budget currently has about $146,000 available to purchase the lots, he said. The terms of the deal also allow for the seller to use seven of the parking spaces in the new lot. If there are any problems with the environmental conditions of the property, the city could renegotiate the property or walk away from the deal, Walsh said.

Walsh said he hoped the project would help redevelopment of the tannery project and other lots and areas around Penacook. He said the river walk had the potential to become “an Emerald Necklace, of sorts,” since they would connect to other parks and river frontage in the area.

The council approved the acquisition of the parcels unanimously.