Creative Reuse of Aging Public Facilities

Project Overview

The Towns of Farmington and Milton, New Hampshire, have identified community facilities that serve as local community convening and recreation spaces but are in need of improvements through creative reuse strategies that optimize opportunities for all residents. These include the former Farmington High School currently used as the municipal offices, the former Farmington Town Hall currently used as the community and recreation center, the recently renovated but vacant Milton Town House, the former Sacred Heart Catholic Church that now serves as the Milton Town Hall, and the Milton Town Beach. SRPC will, with the assistance of a design team to be hired, provide the following Technical Assistance to Farmington and Milton to develop plans for the reuse of these facilities.

Community Facility Trainings will be offered to all of the Strafford Regional Planning Commission (SRPC) communities. As part of the dynamic, hands-on training sessions the communities will learn how to effectively conduct community conversations to establish a vision for facility improvements and reuse, develop preliminary space needs and feasibility assessments, and identify resources for realizing their reuse and redevelopment plans.

Community Facility Technical Assistance will be provided to the two communities with the greatest demonstration of readiness to proceed, Farmington and Milton, NH with whom SRPC will work to create an existing conditions report, preliminary design and layout plans, cost estimates, and guidance on policies to best use the space.