Waterville Valley Planning Board Reviews Tyrell Master Plan: Key Updates on Development and Amenities
Waterville Valley Planning Board Reviews Tyrell Master Plan: Adventure Center, Miniature Golf, and Parking Solutions
- Key Developments: The Tyrell Master Plan proposes an expanded adventure center, a potential miniature golf course, and structured parking garages to support Waterville Valley’s growth as a resort community.
- Community Input: Residents expressed concerns about the visual impact of parking garages, highlighting the need to preserve the town’s character.
- Conceptual Stage: The plan is still conceptual, with community support critical for its advancement.
- Focus Areas: The plan emphasizes enhancing recreational offerings, increasing accommodation capacity, and improving infrastructure while maintaining a pedestrian-friendly core.
Overview
The Waterville Valley Planning Board discussed the Tyrell Master Plan during a July 13, 2023, meeting, outlining a vision to enhance the town’s resort appeal. The plan includes an expanded adventure center with a possible miniature golf course, structured parking garages to accommodate increased density, and other developments like hotels and a pedestrian core. These initiatives aim to balance tourism growth with community needs, though concerns about visual impacts were raised.
Adventure Center and Miniature Golf
The plan proposes relocating and expanding the existing adventure center to a new location with a larger footprint. This would allow for both indoor and outdoor activities, including a potential miniature golf course, to enhance recreational offerings for visitors and residents (link).
Parking Solutions
Structured parking garages, including underground levels, are planned to support new hotels and commercial spaces. These garages aim to manage parking efficiently while minimizing visual impact on the town’s aesthetic (link).
Community Concerns
Residents voiced concerns about the parking garages’ potential impact on neighborhood aesthetics, urging careful design to preserve Waterville Valley’s character. The board acknowledged these concerns, noting that the plan remains open to refinement based on community feedback (link).
Detailed Review of the Tyrell Master Plan: Waterville Valley Planning Board Meeting, July 13, 2023
The Waterville Valley Planning Board convened on July 13, 2023, to discuss updates to the Tyrell Master Plan, a strategic framework aimed at enhancing the town’s resort community through targeted development. The discussion, captured in the meeting transcript, focused on key components such as an expanded adventure center, a potential miniature golf course, structured parking garages, and other elements like hotels, mixed-use buildings, and a pedestrian core. Below is a comprehensive review of these components, based solely on the transcript, with timestamped links to the relevant discussion points in the meeting video.
Overview of the Tyrell Master Plan
The Tyrell Master Plan is a conceptual strategy to revitalize Waterville Valley’s town core, building on land acquired in 2019. The plan aims to enhance the resort’s appeal by increasing accommodation capacity, improving recreational facilities, and addressing parking needs while maintaining a pedestrian-friendly environment. Key components include:
- Hotels: A boutique hotel (75-80 rooms) and a larger hotel (300-325 rooms) to boost visitor capacity (link).
- Mixed-Use Buildings: Structures with residential units on upper floors and commercial spaces (e.g., retail, restaurants) on the ground floor to create a vibrant town center (link).
- Adventure Center: An expanded facility with indoor and outdoor activities, including a potential miniature golf course (link).
- Parking Garages: Structured parking, including underground levels, to support increased density (link).
- Pedestrian Core: A car-free zone around the pond and village green to enhance walkability and safety (link).
- Seasonal Ice Rink: A versatile space for winter ice skating and summer events, such as festivals or performances (link).
The plan, still in its conceptual phase, requires community support to move forward, with developers emphasizing collaboration with the town and residents (link).
Adventure Center and Miniature Golf
The Tyrell Master Plan includes a proposal to relocate and expand the existing adventure center, currently focused on bike and cross-country activities, to a new location with a larger footprint. The expanded facility would offer both indoor and outdoor activities to enhance the resort’s recreational offerings. Specifically, the transcript mentions the possibility of including a “miniature golf course or something like that” as part of the outdoor activities to attract families and visitors (link). This addition is part of a broader “activity zone” integrated with the resort’s amenities, aiming to create a hub of entertainment that complements existing facilities like the athletic club and pool (link).
Key Details
- Purpose: To expand recreational offerings beyond the current adventure center’s scope, providing diverse activities for guests and residents.
- Location: A dedicated wing near the town center, adjacent to other planned developments like hotels and commercial spaces.
- Miniature Golf: Proposed as a family-friendly outdoor activity to enhance the resort’s appeal, though details remain preliminary.
Parking Garages
A significant focus of the Tyrell Master Plan is addressing parking constraints to support the increased density from new hotels, commercial buildings, and residential units. The plan moves away from initial assumptions of surface parking to structured parking garages, including underground levels, to maximize space efficiency. The transcript details multiple discussions on this topic:
- Design: The garages are planned with three levels, including one underground, one at surface level, and one above ground. Underground parking is also proposed beneath major buildings to allow for taller structures (up to five stories) without sacrificing aesthetics (link).
- Capacity: The parking strategy accounts for approximately 1,900 spaces, calculated based on zoning requirements for 300-325 hotel rooms, 75-80 boutique hotel rooms, and up to 200 residential units (link).
- Integration: Garages are designed to serve multiple facilities, including town square, the Snowy Owl, dubbing, and Black Bear Lodge, with some surface lots retained for specific uses (link).
- Access Control: To prevent convenience parking, the garages may use key card systems for residents and hotel guests (link).
The board emphasized that structured parking has been part of long-term planning since the 1990s, as outlined in agreements between the resort, town, and water company (link).
Parking Allocation Table
Facility | Parking Solution | Notes |
---|---|---|
Town Square | Surface lots and garage | Parking pushed to a new garage location (link) |
Snowy Owl | Dedicated spaces in garage | Ensures hotel-specific parking (link) |
Black Bear Lodge | Surface lots maintained | Continuity for existing parking needs (link) |
New Commercial Building | Small parking area | Potential relocation site for grocery store (link) |
Community Feedback and Concerns
The meeting included public input, with residents raising concerns about the parking garages’ potential impact on surrounding neighborhoods. A resident questioned whether structured parking, though historically considered, is suitable for Waterville Valley’s village character, urging careful design to avoid negative effects on long-term residents (link). The planning team acknowledged these concerns, committing to consider aesthetic and environmental impacts in the design process. The conceptual nature of the plan was emphasized, with developers stressing the need for community support to attract developers and ensure project viability (link).
Community Concerns Table
Concern | Details | Response |
---|---|---|
Visual Impact | Fear that garages could detract from neighborhood aesthetics | Team committed to considerate design (link) |
Community Character | Questioning suitability of large structures in a small village | Acknowledged as a valid concern for refinement (link) |
Community Involvement | Need for resident support to advance the plan | Emphasized collaboration with the community (link) |
Additional Plan Components
Beyond the adventure center, miniature golf, and parking garages, the Tyrell Master Plan includes several other elements to create a vibrant, sustainable town core:
- Hotels: A boutique hotel (75-80 rooms) and a larger hotel (300-325 rooms) with a conference center wing to attract more visitors and support year-round tourism (link).
- Mixed-Use Buildings: Buildings with commercial ground floors (e.g., restaurants, cafes) and residential upper floors, modeled after successful mixed-use developments (link).
- Pedestrian Core: A vehicle-free zone around the pond and village green, enhancing accessibility and safety for pedestrians (link).
- Seasonal Ice Rink: A flexible space for winter ice skating and summer events like food tastings or music festivals, inspired by similar amenities at other resorts (link).
- Chapel Collaboration: Potential inclusion of a chapel for community use and events like weddings, in collaboration with the chapel group (link).
These elements aim to create a dynamic hub of activity, with open spaces for public events and integration with existing amenities like the gondola terminal (link).
Financial and Strategic Considerations
The Tyrell Master Plan involves significant financial investment, with the goal of strengthening the commercial tax base to support town services. The transcript does not provide specific cost estimates but highlights the need for a robust commercial core to ensure long-term fiscal stability (link). The plan’s success hinges on community buy-in, as developers noted that without public support, attracting investment will be challenging (link).
Conclusion
The Tyrell Master Plan, as discussed on July 13, 2023, outlines a vision for Waterville Valley that balances tourism growth with community needs. The proposed adventure center and miniature golf course aim to enhance recreational offerings, while structured parking garages address density challenges. Community concerns about aesthetics underscore the importance of thoughtful design. As a conceptual plan, it remains open to refinement, with ongoing discussions critical to its success. For more details, watch the full meeting video: