The North End Whole Foods Project is Smart for City

What does downtown Portsmouth need the most? I've been saying this since the days I lived on Fleet Street -- A grocery store! a drug store! a conference center! and of course... another parking garage! The "Whole Foods Project" takes care of most of that (Portsmouth still needs a downtown drug store and much more public parking spaces than this project requires). 

One of the great things about this project is the land where it's built - a large, unmaintained surface parking lot next to the train tracks. They're not tearing down anything historic - they're actually creating something downtown Portsmouth needs and this location is perfect. 

On parking, Portsmouth has a developer who not only supplying parking for Whole Foods, a hotel, and the conference center (roughly 540+ spaces), but they're also offering the city 100+ public spaces. I know, it's not enough, and we'll need to build another parking facility, but it adds needed spaces, which is a good thing.

For me, it’s most important that pedestrian and bicycle traffic be able to flow through the entire northern tier and connect the rest of downtown. From what I've heard, the developers of the "Whole Foods Project" have already changed plans to allow the public, and pedestrians to access and walk through the entire development that runs along Deer Street and have increased the width of the sidewalks.  Additionally, the green space on both sides of this project, with the use of public art helps beautify an area that is now just a very ugly parking lot. Hopefully they contact 3S Artspace (their neighbors) and Portsmouth's ARTSpeak group, both great local resources for the arts. 

Finally, since Yoken's closed on Route 1, there hasn't been a conference space large enough to accommodate small conventions or conferences  that want to come to our beautiful city.  These organizations will bring millions of dollars into the local economy, which is good for our tax base and local businesses. 

This project is a no-brainer. Yes, debate is good and we should always question developers about their projects to make sure it's what Portsmouth needs. Right now I see no reason to not be in favor of this development. I look forward to the day I can walk to town and shop at Whole Foods (which stocks local goods), have lunch at BRGR Bar across the street (locally owned), and visit local artists and see a live show at 3S Artspace (local artist community that includes an art gallery, performance space, and farm-to-table restaurant). 

Who knows, perhaps NH Film Fest and many eCoast companies will host conferences at the new space? We'll find out!