Visions for Vacancies: 34 Franklin Street

If you stand on the corner of Franklin and Main and head west, past Bonhoeffer's Cafe, you will find yourself facing down a looming 310,000 square-foot bricks-and-mortar blank canvas.

First up in our new series, Vision for Vacancies, is the Franklin Street Mill.

It's time to figure out what to do with this renovated paper mill building, which has been in and out of long- and short-term relationships until it was foreclosed on and returned to the bank a couple of years ago.

Jack Heaney of Fulcrum Properties is working with Renaissance Downtowns to see if they can create a vision for this space that will add value to the city, enhance the neighborhood and perhaps even become a draw, especially with the planned .

Heaney said the original plan for the building was to create some renovated rental housing, but a similar plan was already approved by the city for a mill building across the river.

"In the short term we're looking at possible commercial uses, particularly for the west end of the building, which has a lot of community facility potential," said Heaney.

His Manhattan-based firm is looking for some out-of-the-box proposals that might require some investment on their end – perhaps a green market, a pop-up concert venue – some sort of short-term lease that pays for itself while creating some buzz for the downtown, and hopefully, draws in that next big idea that becomes an economic game changer for the city.

Heaney said right now the short list of ideas to move things forward includes an open house tour of the space for the public, Realtors, developers and VIPs who might be looking for a big space with unlimited potential.

Interested? Contact Heaney at jack@fulcrumprop.com

Got a great out-of-the-box idea? No matter how out there, this is your time and space to share your vision for this downtown vacancy in the comment section below the story.

About the Franklin Street Mill: Located at 34 Franklin Street in Nashua offers a developer/user the opportunity for an mixed-use mill redevelopment.

Located adjacent to the beautiful Nashua River, the site is alongside a working rail line with future plans to connect Nashua to Boston via the newly-formed NH Rail Transit Authority and the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority.

The Franklin Street Mill sits within Nashua’s Riverfront West development project, planned to create a pedestrian-oriented, mixed-use neighborhood linked to parks, shopping and recreational areas by a river walk. The City’s enthusiasm for urban redevelopment should lead to the renaissance of Franklin Street, centered around a waterfront park, connecting it to the existing Main Street.

Site specifications:

Building Size 310,000 SF

Year Built 1889 – 1949 (many renovations and updates over the years)

Site Size 3.39 acres

Floors 

• Main mill - 4 floors plus basement  
• South mill - 6 floors plus basement

Ceiling Height 

• Main mill - 12' ceilings 
• South mill - 8' ceilings

Construction  

• Main and South mill - brick exterior with heavy timber beams 
• East mill - brick exterior with concrete floor and pillars

 Zoning General Industrial with Mixed-Use. Overlay allows for a variety of uses including office, R&D, lab, warehouse, light manufacturing and some residential and retail.

Column Spacing 

• Main mill - 10’ x 14’ and 10’ x 16’ 
• East mill - 23’ x 21’

Elevators Four shafts with two working freight elevators – (1) 10,000 lb. capacity Stanley (1) 6,000 lb. capacity Otis.

Loading Power Two tailboard height docks; 3 drive-in doors on south side (11'8"w x 15' h); 1 tailboard height dock on west end.

Lighting/Heating 480 volt, 3-phase service throughout 4160 volts serve in-building substation feeding 8 primary transformers; (1) 300 KVA transformer on roof, (1) 1000 KVA transformers (1) 300 KVA transformer on train dock (6) 100 KVA transformers in basement

Additional transformers throughout the facility PSNH switch yard on east side of Front Street. Primarily fluorescent 250 HP Cleaver Brooks steam boiler Forced hot water & steam.