Concord residents want to see the banks of the Merrimack River near the Everett Arena restored and preserved, public restrooms installed, more access to green and open spaces and an updated skateboard park, they said while envisioning what the future of Kiwanis Riverfront Park could look like.

At public visioning meetings held in January and May, Concord Parks and Recreation Director David Gill presented the department’s plans for the riverfront park which contains the arena, the city skate park and the Concord Crew boathouse, and the surrounding areas. Long term plans for the area include an expansion of the arena to include a restaurant and deck overlooking the river.

“This is a once-in-a-generation opportunity; the riverfront has not changed in 50 years,” Gill said in January to an audience of more than 120 residents. “This is an opportunity to dream big and be creative.”

A large focus of the proposed project is on Everett Arena which could see an 83,000-square-foot expansion to increase locker room space, hold a restaurant and offer retail opportunities, adding to the popularity of the skating rink. The expansion would include additional parking, more green space, and updated landscaping.

If approved, the improvements could cost more than $10 million, some of which would be offset by grants, said Jay Burgess, the public properties superintendent for the City of Concord.

Other projects could include relocating the skateboard park, extending the Merrimack River Greenway trail to connect with Terrill Park on Old Turnpike Road, providing connectivity to Loudon Road, installing public bathrooms, and creating space for outdoor music and food truck vendors.

Contractors and engineers will also focus on connecting Kiwanis and Terrill parks and surrounding areas by expanding parking and roadways and constructing an elevated boardwalk.

“Once the boardwalk is built, residents and visitors alike will be able to walk/bike from downtown Concord by crossing either the Manchester Street Bridge or the Loudon Road bridge,” the city’s plan states. “This new connection will also give improved access for residents living on both sides of the river.”

At Kiwanis park, improvements are intended to provide better access to the Concord Crew boathouse, the boat launch, and events at the Everett Arena.

“As we get into designing and implementing some of those ideas, constraints include state setbacks and buffers along the Merrimack River with restricted work inside them,” explained Dave Fenstermacher, a civil engineer with VHB. “We are also looking at the floodplain; it looks 12-feet higher than it did the last time we were here.”

City Council’s approval will be the next step, Gill said. The final design should be up for approval by the spring of 2024 with phased construction beginning after.

Parks and Recreation Department staff started to look at options to improve Terrill Park in 2012 and formal master plans were created and approved by councilors in 2017, according to the city website. In 2015, staff from Everett Arena started to look at the long term needs of their facility. Funding for the Everett Arena plan was approved in 2019.

City staff has also started designing the next section of the Merrimack River Greenway trail to connect Terrill Park and Kiwanis Riverfront Park. A section of the new trail from Loudon Road down along the east side of the river, extending nearly 4,000-feet, could be built this year.

]]>