Sometimes, a year can change everything in a community.
2018 may not be remembered quite like that in Concord. At least, not in a tangible way.
Rather, it was more of a table-setter, a year in which some exciting projects came together, but many more were set into motion, and won’t bear fruit until the next year or so.
Once in place, some of these developments will shape Concord in new ways. Here’s a look ahead on what we think will be some of the bigger movers and shakers next year.
The facade at the old Concord Theatre has been sealed up like a drum recently as construction continues on the joint project between Steve Duprey and the Capital Center for the Arts.
Down the street, Mark Ciborowski also has big plans for a small music venue/function area at Phenix Hall.
There’s already plenty of entertainment in the downtown area if you know where to look. There’s, of course, the Cap Center and Red River Theatres, and you could even include the Audi and the Concord Community Music School.
But these new projects have the potential to bring a younger crowd and more diverse offerings to the scene.
Last we heard, the new Concord Theatre is expected to open by the springtime, with a grand opening in May.
The new theater, which will be named after the Bank of New Hampshire, will operate as a flexible, multi-purpose event venue. Set up for a standing-room-only crowd, it could fit 400, or by extending the retractable bleacher-like seats, it’ll be able to sit 260.
Ciborowski’s plans are a little more tentative. Aside from some snazzy concept art that went before the city’s Architectural Design Review committee in September, it’s been pretty quiet.
Ciborowski said he’s working on pulling together the project’s plans, permitting and fundraising. He hopes to start construction next summer.
There have been some big announcements in the apartment scene in Concord this year, but you’ll have to wait a little longer to see them come to fruition.
Jonathan Chorlian’s second church-based project concerns St. Peter’s Church on N. State Street. In May, it came to light that he would be looking to build a “pocket neighborhood” of 10 homes at the site of the church; weeks later, the church held its final liturgy and closed for good.
There hasn’t been much news on the project since; according to Planning Board minutes, Chorlian’s major site plan review has been pushed off for a number of months, most recently to January.
Across the city, Elm Grove Companies is still working on its micro-flat apartments.
The company announced in October 2017 the purchase of four brick buildings, including 5-7 S. State St., 15-17 Pleasant St., 26-32 Pleasant St., and 19 Pleasant St. for a total of $2.4 million.
The aforementioned dozen micro-units will be built above the Star Building at 15 Pleasant St.
A company spokesperson said the units should be opening next month or February.
And all the way over in Penacook, we can expect movement on the Penacook Landing project at the former tannery site.
After a year of fund-raising efforts, the planned 54-apartment development, consisting mostly of units meant for lower-income residents, obtained most of the funding it needs for Phase I in a fell swoop this fall.
In November, the developer was awarded $714,000 worth of credits from the Financing Authority, which translates to $5.95 million for the project.
The city of Concord also secured $500,000 worth of community development grants for the demolition of the former tannery site, which will pretty much cover the city’s price tag for the site.
The city is expected to demolish the site in the spring, with constriction on Phase I to begin soon after.
Exciting as the above-listed developments are for Concord, many of them are things Concord already has – what really sparked reader attention this year were the changes that brought something completely different to the Capital City.
Places like Chuck’s BARbershop, a speak-easy themed bar; Aldi, a grocery store that cuts prices by putting more of the onus on customers for bagging and cart retrieval; the Altitude Trampoline Park, which brought physical fun to the Steeplegate Mall; or even the Concord Hotel, which brought boutique-style lodging to Main Street.
These developments generated a lot of buzz this year, and showed that different can thrive in Concord.
The filing period for two city council seats opens Friday and will run until Jan. 14.
At-large City Councilor Steve Shurtleff and Ward 10 Councilor Daniel St. Hilaire resigned their seats in early December after being confirmed as speaker of the New Hampshire House and as a Superior Court judge, respectively.
Ward 4 City Council Byron Champlin has already announced he’ll be throwing his hat into the At-Large ring.
The election is set for March 5.
The winners will be sworn in at the March 2019 city council meeting.
Concord’s curbside Christmas tree collection will run for two weeks starting Jan.7 and allows residents with curbside trash and recycling collection to easily dispose of their trees along with their trash. The collection will run through Jan. 18; trees will be picked up in a separate truck from trash and recycling.
All lights, ornaments, tinsel, and decorations must be removed. Wreaths and artificial trees will not be collected.
A resident who misses collection can also toss their trees at the transfer station at 77 Old Turnpike Road during the month of January.
(Caitlin Andrews can be reached at 369-3309 or candrews@cmonitor.com.)