The downtowns of Concord and Penacook are less than 10 miles and ZIP code digit apart, but their atmospheres couldn’t be more different.
It’s true that Concord has sunk significant money into the appearance of both, giving facelifts to key buildings and doing away with utility lines. But that’s about where the similarities end; whereas Concord’s downtown is frequently full of visitors during the day and keeps its ground-level storefronts mostly full, walking down Penacook’s main street can feel, well, a little lonely.
The staples are the pharmacy and the hardware store, both of which have existed in some form or another for more than 100 years. There’s a convenience store, a bank, a hair salon and a car garage. And unlike Concord’s Loudon Road, Penacook’s commercial offerings begin and end in its downtown. Locals call it quiet and quaint – and not much else.
“There really isn’t enough amenities,” said Deb Newell, owner of the Newell Post and Penacook resident since 2001. “It’s like, every little need, you have to go get.”
No wonder a proposal to rezone 28.5 acres of land on Whitney Road to allow for commercial and industrial development has been welcomed by many Penacook residents – who face a significantly higher tax rate than their Concord neighbors – with open arms.
But now that the rezoning has been given the city council’s stamp of approval, Penacook faces some big questions. Not just what they’d like to see go in at the site, but what it means for the future of their village if it adds a large-scale development like the kind developers Laurie and David Rauseo have presented.
And when we say large-scale, we’re talking an estimated $40 million in new taxable property, should the Rauseos’ concept be built out, and an almost 10 percent increase in the tax base.
While the developers have stressed that those plans are strictly conceptual – they don’t even have any firm tenants or site plans yet – City Planner Heather Shank’s analysis of the proposal made it clear that such development can come with more than just a tax base boost.
Specifically, it could detract business from Penacook’s downtown and put commercial and residential development pressures on the entire area, Shank wrote. Traffic is certain to increase, and the quiet residential feel of the area could change.
“Staff suggests that a development of this size could act as a catalyst over time to change the entire character, land use patterns, and market demands of this region, even without a coordinated plan or intent,” Shank wrote, advocating for a master plan as the project develops.
The question of whether Penacook residents are ready for – or want – that kind of change is complicated.
“The short answer is yes and yes,” said Ward 2 Councilor Allan Herschlag, pointing to the number of people who opposed the Rauseos’ attempts to lift zoning covenants off Whitney Road in 2011 versus how many spoke in favor of the zoning change in March.
“I think the answer is that people understand their situation regarding their ability to control tax rate increases, and that’s through commercial development,” he continued.
Newell agreed – residents are ready for some tax relief. But only if that tax relief protects Penacook’s quaint nature; she wasn’t too jazzed about the idea of more traffic rolling through downtown.
She sees an artisanal future for the downtown, one full of crafters and entrepreneurs. Maybe a bakery. Leave the heavy tax-base lifting to the Rauseos.
“I think it’s outside the village enough where you could visit it,” Newell said. “We’ve waited a long time already for something like this.”
That’s similar to At-Large Councilor Steve Shurtleff’s vision for Penacook. He said he sees it becoming a “boutique” kind of place, with art galleries and unique offerings.
Born and raised in Penacook, Shurtleff said there’s a tremendous amount of pride among residents in their community. He called Penacook “a phoenix rising from the ashes.”
“It’s been a farming and forestry area, then it went through an industrial period, and now it’s in the middle of a renaissance,” he said.
But the village’s downtown isn’t going to reignite itself, Shurtleff said – it’ll need a boost from a large-scale development like the Rauseos’ proposal to drive traffic.
That’s what the town of Warner was hoping for when Market Basket and other businesses came to Interstate 89’s Exit 9, town administrator Jim Bingham said. But about 10 years after development started to pop up in the area, he said Warner residents are still waiting for visitors on their way to the Sunapee region to discover their downtown.
“It hasn’t had too much of an impact on our quality of life,” Bingham said. “We’re still a quaint village – we just want more people to know about it.”
That’s what Shurtleff thinks about Penacook, too.
“I think Penacook’s best days are ahead,” he said.
Editor’s note: This article was changed to reflect the potential $40 million growth of the city’s tax base.
(Caitlin Andrews can be reached at 369-3309, candrews@cmonitor.com or on Twitter at @ActualCAndrews.)