Four organizations received Merit Awards from Plan NH for excellence in planning, design, and/or development in the building and architecture environment. The award highlights businesses that incorporate smart growth principles, collaboration and cooperation, and the effect of a project on the social, economic and/or environmental fabric of a community.
Plan NH is a membership organization for professionals in the planning, design, and development industries. The organization's philosophy is what is built has an impact on a community and that fostering excellence will help in the development of vibrant, healthy communities in NH.
Enterprise Center at Plymouth
Owner: Grafton County Economic Development Council
The Center is an incubator providing leased space, mentoring and networking opportunities supporting entrepreneurs, small business owners and economic development in central NH. The building is brand new, sitting on the site of an old, unused facility “pinched between a railway line, two streets and a traffic circle.” The site was deliberately chosen as it is close to the Plymouth State University campus, making it walkable for interns and thus encouraging internships offered by the tenants of the Center, as well as accessible to PSU faculty and downtown.
Currently, the building is full with five companies leasing space, with a total of 20 employees and plans for more. In addition, the Center is home to an enhanced outreach effort by PSU staff and graduate students offering services similar to those provided to the current tenants–an incubator without walls.
Says one juror, “The ethos of Plan NH is reflected in this project.”
Senior Living at Notre Dame, Service-Enriched Community Housing, Berlin
Owner: Senior Living at Notre Dame, LP, c/o AHEAD, Inc.
This facility offers 33 fully accessible, subsidized apartments for senior living, with associated community living spaces and dining, in what was once Notre Dame High School in Berlin, a building of historical significance to the community. Taking advantage of myriad funding sources, Affordable Housing Education and Development (AHEAD) preserved and rejuvenated this property.
This project was honored as a great re-use of an old building and for uplifting the neighborhood and built environment around it.
Labrie Family Skate at Puddle Dock Pond, Portsmouth
Owner:Strawbery Banke
When Strawbery Banke was approached to create a seasonal skating rink in the middle of the museum grounds, they thought it was a wonderful idea–a classic New England activity that could bring life to an otherwise quiet museum during the winter months. Committees were formed, plans began … and so did public outcry. Noise and traffic concerns by neighbors led to legal battles that delayed the project.
But supporters persevered, and positive energy trumped the naysayers. The rink was built in fall 2014 and opened Dec.15. Open until mid-March, the skating rink drew 20,000 visitors, without one complaint from neighbors.
The jury thought this was a great story of a community that came together and stood up for what it wanted. The collaboration, the pro-bono work, the creative design that enables the site to “disappear” after March, and other great attributes all contributed to the earning of a Merit Award.
State Street Utilities Replacement and Streetscape Revitalization, Portsmouth
Owner: City of Portsmouth
When the time came to replace the aging infrastructure underneath historic State Street (from Pleasant Street to Marcy Street), the city of Portsmouth realized it could also upgrade the pedestrian experience along this corridor. That led to looking at the Complete Street model: When a street or road is built or re-designed, it takes into consideration all ways that it may be traveled, and designed for them. Here, it meant foot, bicycle and vehicle.
Once the major route to Maine, this section of State Street is now a major destination in and of itself. Improvements include wider sidewalks, speed bumps to slow cars and trucks, and markings to underscore that bikes are part of the transportation system here.
The jury thought the process of this project could be inspirational to other communities, and recognized that its success was due to many factors, including working closely with impacted business-owners. The Complete Streets philosophy is key to a walkable downtown or neighborhood, and serves as a catalyst for social, economic and environmental health and vitality.
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