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Planning board reviews design for Concord's new police headquarters; no binding approvals
Summary
City project manager Beth Fenstermacher presented the adaptive reuse of the Concord Group building and an 18,000 sq ft addition for a consolidated police headquarters at 4 Bouton Street; the planning board provided nonbinding design feedback and recorded public concerns about traffic, fencing, stormwater and a communications tower.
Beth Fenstermacher, director of special projects for the city of Concord, presented the design and site plan for a new police headquarters at 4 Bouton Street, explaining the project will adaptively reuse the existing Concord Group building and add approximately 18,000 square feet to create a facility roughly 57,000 square feet in size. Fenstermacher told the board that City Council has appropriated the funding for the project (CIP 643) and that the hearing focused on design issues under RSA 74:54, which allows nonbinding planning board review of governmental uses.
Fenstermacher said the plan maintains the existing public entrance, adds staff and public parking, and creates secure parking and garage bays for patrol vehicles. "We have currently proposed 98 spaces," she told the board, noting the department currently operates from a site with about 30 spaces and that the addition of maintenance bays will allow on-site service and shift efficiency improvements.
Board members pressed staff and the design team on pedestrian access and crosswalks near the existing bus stop, ADA access, snow storage and on-site stormwater management. Fenstermacher said the project team is coordinating with the city's transportation engineer and aligning work with a separate CIP for traffic signal replacement in FY2027. On the subject of fencing and security, Fenstermacher described an anti-climb fence softened with additional plantings following feedback from the Heritage Commission and the city's public-safety consultant.
During public comment, neighbors raised concerns about access for a nearby daycare that uses a propane tank service gate and about vehicle noise and siren testing. A resident asked whether the existing communications tower would move to the new site; Fenstermacher said fiber has been brought to the new building and that moving the large tower would carry an estimated cost of roughly $2,000,000, which has driven the decision to leave it in place for now.
The board did not make binding approvals on this governmental-use application; members recorded the testimony and asked staff to note these comments for the city's design team as the project moves into final design and permitting.
