Community invited to 1st Main St., Master Plan presentation for Londonderry’s North Village

The first community presentation of Londonderry’s Main Street Study and Master Plan for Londonderry’s North Village Center will take place from 6:30 to 8 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 7 at Neighborhood Connections located at the Mountain Marketplace in Londonderry.

The meeting will be hosted by Stevens & Associates of Brattleboro, the firm selected to undertake the study and development of a master plan. S&A will present an overview of the project and share initial findings. Residents and local businesspeople have the opportunity to review plans, interact with the consultants and provide their input and views on the future development of North Main Street.

The MSMP project, launched in late June, is funded through a Municipal Planning Grant from the Vermont Agency of Commerce and Community Development. Based on criteria in the town’s Request for Proposals, S&A will develop and recommend implementable plans for a vibrant, accessible, safe, mixed-use district to support existing and new business. These recommendations will reflect and retain the existing features and character of the North Village.

During a walk-through of the North Village, Project Manager Mark Westa commented, “We’re impressed with the extent of revitalization efforts already underway by the Planning Commission and Londonderry volunteers. Having done similar projects in towns located in river basins, we understand the challenges. At the same time, our prior experiences have given us insight and knowledge of potential solutions and funding resources available to Londonderry.”

S&A’s team of architects, planners and engineers have successfully completed numerous projects in river-basin towns and villages. This experience has given them a strong understanding of the many impediments to development and to improvements in the public realm such as flooding and flood damage, lack of a community water supply and wastewater treatment services and problematic intersections.

Planning Commission Chair Sharon Crossman noted, “There is significant Covid relief money coming to our town from the federal government that can address water supply and wastewater issues. In addition, there is funding to address many of the challenges we face in building a viable, strong North Main Street.”

More information on the Main Street Master Plan, Stevens & Associates and the Oct. 7 meeting can be found at www.onelondonderry.org and www.londonderryvt.org.