A Tale Of Two Towns

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. Oh wait- that's another story altogether... Perhaps in this case time will reveal a spin on that Dickens line to read "It was the best of plans, it was the worst of plans".

In this corner, Salisbury Beach. In the other corner, Hampton Beach. It wouldn't be inaccurate to observe that these two beach enclaves compete for the attention of vacationers and the attendant seasonal business.

This past month, a very large development company announced their plans for the Salisbury Beach area not too far down the seacoast from Hampton Beach, coincidently in the middle of major revitalization of their own. It is especially interesting to contrast the different approaches to beach redevelopment.

Several years ago, various condominium plans came through for Salisbury Beach, backed and developed by various well known names. Observers were alternately overjoyed and horrified that the flavor of Salisbury Beach would be forever changed. With the new development of Hampton Beach in motion, the same reaction is taking place among observers and property owners, as many of the new projects are condominium in nature, including condominium hotels, or contels as they're known.

Well... along comes a major developer to the Salisbury Beach scene... and seeing the vast array of unsold condominiums and other property not being developed at all, causing a stark contrast between modern design and classic New England waterfront- or between shanty and palace if you will- and their proposal is nothing short of earth shattering in scope- most comments so far include the term visionary.

According to the Daily News of Newburyport, "Exciting," "fantastic" and "wonderful" were words used repeatedly by business leaders, property owners and town officials responding to news the developer of Boston's Quincy Market wants to create a grand and unified vision at Salisbury Beach.

The Thompson Design Group - the designers of landmarks like Quincy Market, Ghirardelli Square in San Francisco and Navy Pier in Chicago - is in the process of negotiating partnerships of varying natures with 73 property owners in the Salisbury Beach Overlay District.

Although still in the formative stage, the goal of the negotiations and consensus-building is to redevelop the heart of the beach as a whole with a unified vision that would recapture the center's former vibrancy.

Interesting... one developer putting their money up to create a unified vision for the Salisbury Beach waterfront instead of what has heretofore been a series of various projects with no connection or relationship with each other... interesting.

Norman Beaulieu and Buzz Constable of RE Commerce, the development arm of the Thompson Design Group, have said to make the space thrive it's important to redevelop it with commercial businesses in combination with residential units and great public spaces.

Planning Board member Don Egan - who worked on the rezoning of the beach that included the Overlay District - also owns a home on Atlantic Avenue. Although it is not within the Overlay District, he sees creating one comprehensive vision for the beach center's core as one that could add value to all property in Salisbury's beach enclave.

Developing the beach one lot at a time can become problematic and create properties that don't interact well with one another, Egan said, which gives the beach a disjointed appearance no matter how good each building looks on its own.

Tim Mulcahy, one of the major beach center landowners and activists, was the first one contacted by RE Commerce. By redeveloping a large expanse, he said, many important but often forgotten issues can be addressed cohesively. A comprehensive, single plan could handle burying all the utilities and ridding the area of unsightly poles and wires.

Much needed infrastructure upgrades - like larger gas, water and sewer lines - could be brought in one swoop. Parking could be dealt with one a large scale, instead of having parking lots dotting the street scapes. Public spaces where families and others can congregate will not be overlooked in a comprehensive plan, he said.

The Thompson Group was not the only entity receiving Mulcahy's praise. That an organization with such stature wants to work at the beach is a feather in the cap of what Salisbury has become over the past five years.

WOW! Do any of these concerns sound familiar to the boards and property owners at Hampton Beach?

Time will tell how each of these bustling beach communities deal with their redevelopment challenges. I can assure you my eyes are firmly on both towns efforts!