Le Parc De Notre Renaissance Francaise & Bicentennial Park Improvements

The City of Nashua selected Weston & Sampson as part of a consultant team led by Haynor/Swanson, Inc. to develop improvements at two riverfront parks to increase multi-modal connectivity in downtown Nashua, improve access to the Nashua River, and create opportunities for community gathering, events, and recreation.

At Le Parc De Notre Renaissance Française, planned designs include pathway, amphitheater seating, and landscape improvements that orient visitors toward the river and negotiate the significant grade change between the park and Water Street. Notably, the design will ensure accessibility at all entrances and throughout the park; protect and highlight the existing La Dame de Notre Renaissance Françoise statue in its current location; incorporate a stage that serves as a premier performance venue for the city and a park amenity open for regular daily use; include lighting to address wayfinding and safety concerns; and transform the park into a critical, resilient space through hardscape removal, tree and shrub plantings, and improved drainage infrastructure.

Bicentennial Park will be connected to Le Parc De Notre Renaissance Française by way of a new riverfront boardwalk along 4 Water Street, and renovations will bring prominence to this small downtown park. The design improvements will ease the maxed-out slopes of proposed pathway connections and add new seating as well as a gathering space to frame the river views adjacent to Main Street. Plans include incorporating the existing art sculptures, with the addition of uplighting, into the space along the new pathway amenity.

Through these improvements, Bicentennial Park will celebrate recent artistic contributions, while Le Parc De Notre Renaissance Française will honor Nashua’s history, as an homage to the development of the community over time.