Around New Hampshire - Winter 2009-2010

East Derry: Since its $1 purchase of Upper Village Hall (Seven to Save 2007) from the town, the East Derry Village Improvement Society has organized volunteers to make preliminary repairs to the hall and develop a long-term rehabilitation plan so that it can once again serve the community.

Newbury: A crane lifted the refurbished steeple of the 1832 Center Meetinghouse in Newbury back into place in early December, completing the major structural phase of a local committee's efforts to completely rehabilitate the deteriorated structure. More than $900,000 has been raised so far, about 80% of it from the local community. Fundraising continues for another $400,000 to complete interior plastering and other interior features.

Somersworth: Somersworth's Hilltop Elementary School (Seven to Save 2006), scheduled to close in 2011 after construction of a new school, may find a new identity as an arts studio, charter school, performance theater, park, or multiuse building. These are all feasible options according to the Hilltop School Building Reuse Ad Hoc Committee, which worked with Warrenstreet Architects of Concord to asses possible uses for the building.

Dover: The City of Dover has adopted "Form-Based Codes" in place of traditional zoning to help maintain the character of the city's downtown, the first community in northern New England to do so. The code controls the configuration, features, and functions of buildings that define and shape the public realm. Approvals for new construction are based on how well the building fits in with the existing fabric of the community.

West Stratford: The Cohos Historical Society in West Stratford has begun emergency repairs to the steeple on its former church building after receiving a grant from the Neil and Louise Tillotson Fund, a donor advised fund of the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation.

Portsmouth:  The futures of the Memorial Bridge and the Sarah Mildred Long Bridge are being studied by a joint Maine-N.H. project; public hearings were held in December. The study has recommended against demolishing both bridges and replacing them with a single high-rise span. However, demolition and replacement of one or the other is still a possible outcome, with significant impacts to both downtown Portsmouth and Kittery.

The historic Martingale House on Portsmouth's Bow Street, the city's second oldest waterfront building, was demolished after the developers, Martingale Wharf L.P., claimed that, in the course of building new flanking structures, they were unable to preserve the historic one as they had previously committed to doing. The Historic District Commission, according to vice chair Richard Katz, "reluctantly, by 100% of the commissioners, approved this demolition" after being convinced that the brick walls of the Martingale House had decayed beyond repair.

Municipal Buildings: The Jackson Historical Society has begun planning to re-use the former town hall as a new home for its museum, and in Bedford, the Historical Society is pursuing a partnership with the town to explore re-using the long-vacant Stevens-Buswell School as a community museum. A new committee in Hooksett has been charged with finding a new use for the vacant town hall, and in Wolfeboro, heated debate continues over whether to invest in rehabilitating the existing town hall (Seven to Save 2009) or move forward with new construction in a different location.

Shelburne: N.H. Fish and Game has accepted a conservation easement on the Philbrook Farm Inn in Shelburne (Seven to Save 2006), thanks to the work of the Conservation Fund, the Farm's owners, LCHIP and other generous donors.