I guess Disney World was a bad example. My point was that having people visit and spend money, could be used as a positive to improve the area. How many cities are trying to attract events?

Agreed, that is the only way.

But it's the chicken and the egg - who will want to invest in a run down area with a short season with declining crowds? But without investment why would people come?

Is their a tourism board? If not someone needs to be put in charge with the goal of breathing some new life into the area. Cities do try and attract tourism and events, but as with anything else it will take spending some money to make money. I bet the enthusiasm for doing that isn't huge....

As a seasonal person/weekender, I see a couple of issues here...


In bringing up my family to the Lake, we want to avoid the Weirs... It is run down, and offers nothing for families. While bike week may generate a shot of revenue, the overall cost of policing the area, clean up and etc may not mean too much actualized revenue.

What I would like seen done is as was stated before... Create a Master Plan for the entire Weirs area. Make it a place where everyone can visit, day or night, with great restaurants, attractions and more. The Weirs should be spark plug that drives the western side of the lake from Meredith to Gilford and down to Alton.

What would you do?
 

As in most things it is easy to be critical.

There are a few owners with property investments in Weirs Beach that have existed and done well for many years. The city of Laconia would face a significant challenge if they tried to make any changes that would impact those property owners.

It would be nice to have Laconia look like Meredith but how do you make that happen? Who would want to invest in the modernization and cleanng up of the Weirs Beach area if every eyesore in the area was not removed? How do you get the income from 12 weeks to support 52 weeks of debt? Many tourists, summer people, boaters and vacationers are here for the summer season and have no idea how much this area turns into a ghost town for 9 months of the year.

If you have really great ideas about how you can support the investment required for significant change that will make sense with the short season we have I am sure that the Laconia Planning Department would love to hear from you.

So, don't complain, offer your solution!

My solution is to develop a Master Plan that addresses how to improve the area.

This plan needs input from the people that own commercial property at the Weirs, the residential property owners in the area that have been impacted property value wise, the bike week organizers and anyone else with a vested interest.

I have a place right across from the Weirs between Weirs Beach and Govenors Island, so I feel I have a vested interest. The only plan that will work should work for the majority.

Doing nothing is no longer acceptable to me. Laconia as a city has demonstrated they very good at doing nothing about the Weirs. It will not improve until a Master Plan is developed, approved and funded.

R2B

Sorry if some are a repost.....a few thoughts that may bring interest back. Most are kid and adult oriented.

1.New updated drive in. (I think it should stay)
2.A long pier into the lake with attractions and access from a boat.
3.A large/ huge Farris wheel facing the lake.
4.Mini submarine tours(?).
5.Huge water slide into the lake.
6.Annual boat/ jet ski races of sorts.
7.Annual or multiple remote control boat races.
8.Annual or multiple remote control R/C car races.
9.Parasailing ( I wouldn't )
10.Car cruise nights at the weirs.
11.Boat ??? Cruise nights or mornings. (so to speak), never heard of one myself, such as a gathering of boaters like the car guys have C&C events ( cars and coffee). It seems it's always a free for all to get where your going by boat. Not an organized gathering to get a morning cup of joe and talk boats and such. I suppose docking is the #1 reason this doesn't happen.
12.Kids boat track...go-cart track on the water.
13.Surfing pool. Water is pumped up hill fast enough it keeps you stationary until you loose your balance, then it's bye bye swim trunks.
14.Wave pool
15.Six Flags Park near by.
16.Huge floating raft with water slides, and trampoline.
17.Bumper boats
18.Under water glass tunnel for walking with man made sunken artifacts placed around on the bottom that divers can investigate while observers in the tunnel can look on and watch the divers.
19.A replica Washington Monument for view seekers.
20.A dance hall for large get togethers.

Ok I'm rambling and pecking every thought that has bounced around in my head. These can get the ball rolling and everyone can feed off this.
PS. I would love to do some of these ideas if anyone would be interested in talking about them.

See Meredith. I'd go figure out who transformed Meredith and offer them, or someone like them, incentives to do the same for Laconia. No property taxes for twenty years in exchange for developing a high-end hotel at the Weirs? There must be town owned property (tax foreclosures) that could be given to developers in exchange for a commitment of heavy capital expenditures. Who developed the Meredith Hockey tournament? If I were running Laconia I'd improve the docking situation. Clearly this isn't rocket science. While I agree that running a seasonal tourist destination is difficult, why has every other town on the lake been HIGHLY successful? This is Lake Winnipesaukee....there is a ton of money around. If people were convinced that change and investment were happening money would flow to the Weirs and Laconia rapidly. While the area is downtrodden there is a ton of value here. What other town on the lake has that much commercial property at its waterfront? My God look at what has happened to Boston's South End.....take a peak at what has happened to places like Chelsea and Dorchester. These areas benefitted since they were values relative to Boston's Back Bay and North-end. Isn't the same relationship present between Laconia and Meredith?

I was hoping for ideas that will work. A Master Plan is a method but not an idea with a specific action or building or a type of business that will solve the problem. I was thinking more of specific ideas rather than a committee than has to come up with it's own ideas.

Great Ideas But:
 

You have a lot of good summer ideas but I didn't see a solution to make the area, and the investment required, viable the other 9 months of the year. It is very difficult to support 12 months of debt on 3 months of income.

Since most families have children in school for 9 months of the year your target consumer is limited to people within about a 50 mile radius of Laconia who will only come on weekends. Many of them do not have the disposable income to support these ideas. As you reach farther south the income levels rise but so does the travel time which will again restrict the number of people willing and able to travel that far.

The area needs a 12 month solution in order to generate the income necessary to support the investment required for a substantial change.

How about a casino within a hotel that could include some other attractions? I think the casino bill is coming up for another vote in NH. We were the 1st State in the country to approve a lottery, I believe. A casino seems like it could be a year round attraction that would bring in a lot of money into the area.

That's the million dollar question....The Solution with the game plan. I'm sorry I don't have it. That is responsibility of the state officials, imo. It won't be an over night repair. The first attraction will need to be built, draw some interest and drive the second attraction and so on and so on. I think the Fun Spot , the zip line place (can't remember the name, monkey something?) ect...are solid starts . The next improvement can't be 5-6 years from now, they need to keep upgrading and get people talking.

Thanks PCMC You are the first with a few solid ideas into solving some of the problems. Most complain, you provide answers. We use to say at work "don't give me problems, give me solutions".

.....the NH Veteran's Assoc. ?
 

http://www.weirsbeach.com/Largejpgs/nhvahistory.html has been there since sometime like 1924, and will probably still be there in 2124. In 1924 the large Weirs Hotel on-site burnt to the ground.

They have a number of seasonal, un-heated historic buildings, plus a campground, and I could never figure out exactly what purpose these serve, what is their use and whether these civil war ear buildings are a plus or a minus for the Weirs area?

According to an article in the LaDaSun a couple years ago, the NH Veteran's Assoc pays no property taxes to Laconia and makes most of its yearly income during bike week, from rental income from the vender tents placed on the grassy embankment above the sidewalk, and the rental income gets used for building and property maintenance and repairs.

Are these old historic un-heated and presumably un-used buildings a historic benefit to the area, or are they an eyesore .......I dunno .....what do you think?? Whatever they may be ........they will most likely be there for many many years to come. Is the NH Veteran's Assoc historic buildings and campground a plus or a minus for the area?

Maybe the NH Veterans Assoc would be interested in removing all these old historic structures to a new location and replacing them with a brand new casino designed along a Civil War style design similar to these old buildings, and the casino employees could dress up like the soldiers who fought the Civil War in blue and grey uniforms. It could be an historical replica Civil War era waterfront casino .... and power-up the local economy....with a year round casino business.

Very interesting that you brought that up, fll. I always wondered about those buildings too.

You also have to consider that some people don't want to change the Weirs. People may hate the traffic that bike week brings and think more attractions will just make more traffic.

Laconia has other issues beyond just The Weirs. Just like a lot of NH towns, they don't have a substantial industrial base to fuel the middle class. The lake brings money into the area which filters down from lake businesses to the rest of the town. There are few other business that actual bring money into the area.

Do this thought experiment, everyone living in Laconia is sending money out of town, very little food, electricity, gasoline or manufactured goods are made there. Where does that money come from? Lake tourists, and government payments, where else?

Casinos the answer?
 

We got a similar line in Ohio and we now have 3 casinos draining money from the local economies.

To get the job done required amending the state constitution. This amendment included the number of casinos, the precise locations, exactly how and what would be taxed, and who got to own them (out of state "investors").

In Columbus, ours is located on an old manufacturing site in a somewhat blighted area. There was great excitement about how the casino would revitalize the area. --Not to mention the tax windfall.

Well, it's been a few years now and the roads and infrastructure have been updated (at taxpayer expense). Let's see how we did... First, the predicted tax revenue was quite a bit lower than anticipated. There was no "revitalization" of the area. In fact, casinos go to great lengths to ensure that, once you're on the property, you don't leave. Lot's of complementary food, hotel rooms, you name it. Why would you even think of walking several blocks to some local establishment. Most of the jobs created are lower-paying "hospitality" workers. Dealers get more, but there aren't that many of them.

And all the money taken in? Why, that goes to the out-of-state owners.

So, unless you think the local government is capable of building and operating (successfully) a casino, I'd fight like all heck to keep them out of the area.

Many ideas, once vetted, agreed to and proven viable, become the foundation of a plan. We need a plan.

Independent ideas are great, but how do these ideas get funded and become reality? How do these ideas link together to make some sort of sense that banks will support with mortgage investments? That is why we need a plan. Look where we are now without a plan. Best recent idea was to tear down the waterslide and pave the lot. WOW! Great step backwards. At least it did not burn down like the structures that were on the other paved lots.

Maybe the best plan is to tear it all down and restart, maybe there is no real solution and we will sit still until it all burns down or falls down by itself. I think that might be the city's plan.

What bothers me is I pay over $10,000 a year in taxes and the city sits there and makes no effort to address the decay problem. I am not the only person in this situation. Let's hear from people that own property there and get their thoughts regarding what should be done.

Easy to sit back and criticize when you do not have a local, vested interest.

R2B

Still only an idea. The revitalization of the Weirs area could make a neat reality show. Attract investors like D. Trump(for example) and a network and you would be back on the map.

Casinos I'm not a fan of. Not a family atmosphere and they seem to beat the states out money in the end too, but it would be year round I suppose.

The City is Trying
 

There is concern in the City of Laconia about what to do to improve the area and find solutions that are financially viable. I have attended meetings conducted by the Laconia Planning Department asking business owners and residents what they would like to see in the future and what they would like the area to look like. The last meeting I went to was held at the Weirs Beach hall next to the fire station and was well attended by local people with a vested interest in the Weirs Beach area.

"Maybe the best plan is to tear it all down and restart" Although that might be a great idea what would you tell the NH Veteran's Association or the owners of the not so attractive Weirs Beach properties that are to be torn down?


There are many of us who own business properties in the Weirs area that would be very happy to see improvements and make the area a year round destination. Finding the right ideas that are financially viable seems to be a very elusive task.

I am a Veteran as well, but I do not belong the NH Veteran's group. My "tear it all down comment" was tongue in cheek. However, if we continue doing what we have been doing, in time it will all be paved.

Nice to invite the residents to the meeting, but what about the non-resident property owners. I own on Lucerne Ave just down the street from the meeting, directly across from the Weirs and I was not invited, nor where my non-resident neighbors. We have a vested interest and are willing to work. I am happy to learn that at least some people are getting together.

R2B

It's nice to hear of the evolvement by everyone there at the meetings.
There's no way around it, this is a huge undertaking. Reaching out to the world via the net is a step in right direction that may pay off eventually. IMO, there will NEVER be ONE correct solution to this.
If using the current site of the NHVA opens more potential for the area, I would suggest proposing it become part of the master plan, WITH the agreement that the association and ALL memorials get incorporated back into the project in their entirety. As far as the homes go I'm keeping my fingers(lips) shut, as I don't want to end up on their s*** list's.(sorry my dad came out in me)

Not an easy one, that's for sure!

Has anyone researched boardwalks or similar waterfront lake areas around the country to around the world and found what designs and layouts that have made them successful. I don't mean to build an identical destination , but for me that's how ideas get sparked. If people like going, and returning to those spots, hopefully they will do the same in NH.

This may be a bad idea but could grow into something.
For a winter attraction could one of those HUGE white inflatable buildings be erected ON the ice? It could offer hockey events, ice skating events- lessons, a flea market, any related sporting event, a snowmobile jamboree...
The cons- getting to it = plowing the ice for walkways after each snow, electricity to it, short unpredictable season, ect...and in violent storms they have deflated.
Sounds fun but maybe not realistic.

Don't forget, The Weirs does not exist in a vacuum. You want to attract $50,000 weddings, you compete with Meredith, concerts you have Meadowbrook, for arcades you have funspot, quaint downtown shopping you have Wolfeboro. Plus The Weirs and Laconia are too big to go small like Alton or Center Harbor. I'm pro-casino on libertarian grounds, but I think the ship has sailed on casinos single-handedly transforming an area.

The Weirs has the beach, the boardwalk, the train, the Mount, the Pier, Bike Week, the Drive-in, some small shops and arcades. Yes, some are not in their former glory, but it's a start to build on. To paraphrase Lee Iacocca, Laconia needs to lead, follow or get out of the way.

NY had Woodstock.
NH could hold Weirsstock?:)

Are these meetings open to the general public/non-resident owners? I'm not a resident but I'm a local property owner with a vested interest in the area and I have taken some courses in city planning and community development.

Now is the Time
 

My concern with the Weirs is that it has gotten steadily worse during a time when the economy has gradually improved while interest rates have remained historically low. In short, the past several years have been a good time to buy real estate, finance development projects, etc. Banks are lending and local tax receipts have trended up based upon a slow improvement in the economy. What happens if/when we hit another recession? The Weirs has suffered during a time when it should have been getting gradually better. Now is the time to do something and turn this once great area around. If it isn't done soon, it is quite possible the situation could get much, much worse when economic conditions falter.

Open to everyone
 

The last meeting I attended was open to everyone. There was a sign up sheet passed around but only to document who was there. Everyone that wanted to speak was given the opportunity to do so.

There is more information here:

http://www.epa.gov/dced/pdf/laconia.pdf

In my opinion substantial improvement of the Weirs area is a two part problem. The first issue is how to deal with or remove all of the eyesores that are there. You can imagine the public outcry from the owners of properties that have been there and provided support for their families for decades. Not all people will see the changes as an improvement. There will also be push back from people both in the Weirs Beach area as well as tourists that do not want to see change and enjoy things just as they are.

The second issue is to come up with a number of viable businesses that can afford the investment that will be necessary for construction and operation of a yet untested year round attraction. That will require a financial gamble that many will be unwilling to make.

But.......................If you have some good ideas I am sure the Laconia Planning Department would love to hear them!

The Uniqueness is gone.
 

When the weirs had the only venue in the area with Famous acts and dancing and it had the only arcade in the area and the only diverse eateries and drive-in and mainstays like the Mount and train it prospered.
Now the uniqueness is gone, Meadowbrook, funspot, eateries spread far and wide, but fortunately we still have the Mount and the train.
we cannot go back so we must go forward.

I can understand opposition to a casino as an engine to fuel area redevelopment; casinos have done nothing to improve Atlantic City.

Consider, then, some form of year round attraction that would have true drawing power: perhaps a museum of some type?

I was just in Las Vegas and enjoyed touring the National Atomic Testing Museum.

That was interesting, and unique due to the proximity of Las Vegas to the testing site.

I've no idea for a theme for a Weirs museum, but I suppose the concept is worth thinking about.

Thanks for sharing! It's good to see that the city has had plenty of professional support!

The Weirs is great in that it has many family-friendly activities. In the summer kids love the arcades, go-karts, and drive-in and in the off-season you also have Fun Spot and Kellerhaus. I think a large family-friendly resort with an indoor water park would help attract more families to the area, particularly in the off-season. I'm not sure if Weirs Beach is considered too close to other indoor water resorts but I would think that it could potentially be considered an attractive area given close proximity to other family-friendly activities.

I would also suggest trying to attract some family-friendly restaurants and indoor activities (e.g, indoor playgrounds) to the Weirs area. Given the large number of kid-friendly attractions in the area it would be good to find ways to encourage families to stay longer and spend more.

As far as an easy to do "starter" idea, the docks at the Weirs are designed for boats much narrower than today's boats. This makes it hard for folks to boat to the Weirs during boating season. A beamy boat can block several other boats from using the adjacent docking space.

If a few of the fingers were removed, so that the dock configuration became more like the Meredith docks, accessability would improve. Leave some of the docking the way it is today and restrict that docking to boats with a beam of 8' 6" or less and force the more beamy boats to the larger dock openings made by removing the fingers.

This is a "low hanging fruit" idea, something inexpensive and easy to do that would bring some fairly quick results.

R2B

Thanks for this report. To me, this is a great start that I was totally unaware of. Any future meetings planned?

Thanks again,

R2B

Honestly, given some of the rest of the activity around the Weirs, I'm not super excited about tying up there and leaving my boat unattended. Those docks need to be completely rebuilt though if they want to draw any activity by boat.

New to laconia
 

Reading this thread is a little unsettling seeing we just bought a house in Laconia. My husband would come up with his family when he was young and always wanted to live here so here we are. We bought in a great neighborhood on Lake Winnisquam. I thought the downtown looked a little shady, but it has such promise. Here in NJ, Wildwood Beach was going down, and they took the old and made it new. People remembered the do op Hotels and dances so they brought them back but new and beautiful. it is doing very well. Perhaps if they turned our old memories into new ones it would bring back the people who loved the place as children. What I'm trying to say is people want to relive their old memories but with a clean, new, modern look. A six-flags type park would be great. And don't forget the skiing.

Expand geography and add great transportation. Cheap.
 

Look at the change in lifestyles. In the 50's a lot of lakeside motels were built and these fueled a lot of small restaurants and other family businesses. Nobody owned their own boat. By the 80's these motels and restaurants, with huge numbers of summer jobs, were no longer viable, so they went condo and everybody has their own boat.
So, if you are still defining the Weirs as a few hundred yards from the sign on Rt. 3 to the old Grange Hall, what do you have? Small lots, no parking and long walks pushing strollers and pulling kids. Today's businesses need large flat lots with lots of parking, or public transportation of sorts. Compare the present Funspot with their starting location on the second floor of Tarlson's Arcade building. Small operation, no parking grown to "world's largest" with lots of parking.

I agree that docks should be removed to improve accessibility, and that's cheap. A dock master would be a huge asset on busy days.

After that, redefine the Weirs as an area from McIntire Circle (that's really Gilford) north to the Meredith line, or maybe up to Funspot. There are some larger plots that could be developed if they needed a little less parking. Remember the double decker bus that Funspot ran at its own expense? A similar bus (or Molly the Trolley as in Wolfeboro) could run a circuit going up Rt 3, up and back past the train station, maybe to AKWA Marine (there's some new development $$ for the naysayers BTW) and up to the Winnipesaukee Museum, or Funspot. A couple of these on summer days so I could get a ride every ½ hour or so would be perfect.

Now I could come by boat and easily get to these remote sites, my kids could ride from my condo on Paugus Bay up to the beach or to some new attraction and the traffic would be much easier to deal with. The drive-in used to have benches down front and you could come by boat and walk in for a quarter. Everything could be attended by my kids with their baby-sitter or elder sibling.

Whether it’s a resort hotel or some other attraction, cheap, fun transportation is key. Think of how spread out Disney World is. They've made the bus, the boats, the train and the monorail part of the attraction, and you rarely think of the time and distance between parking or your hotel and the actual destination.

Summary: Redefine "the Weirs" and add great transportation.

water transport
 

Great ideas Descant. To make the transportation even more interesting, how about putting in dockage for a water taxi at strategic locations along your defined "Weirs" area and have that be a minimal fee ride to get from one location to another in addition to the trolly (which would be faster but not as much fun)?

Know I've said it before..going to say it again (just in case someone reading these can actually do something about the Weirs). There is nothing wrong with nostalgia. Look at the Weirs sign!!! I love seeing it lit up every spring to fall. The place should be brought back to the past by way of the future. An amusement park with rides parents/grandparents can enjoy and rides the kids would be excited about. I remember Paragon Park at Nantasket beach as a kid.Great summer fun! A casino would just create traffic woes! Having a water taxi would steal business from the Doris and the train. Maybe even the Mount. We wouldn't want that. The Weirs is a seasonal destination Weirs beach(ice in makes it that way.New England winters and all)
A seasonal destination that is done right can certainly draw people in. I vote nostalgia!!!!

Weirs Beach waterslide to be torn down
 

The post by Mr V is right on target. All one needs to do is look at the history of Hampton Beach to have insight into Weirs Beach. Hampton Beach had been a gem of a vacation spot, then, slowly, and then rather rapidly, things began to fall apart at the Beach, literally and figuratively. Frankly, it was no longer safe for a family to take a vacation there. There were roving gangs of undisciplined youths making it very uncomfortable for a family, and certainly not the place for children to be without their parents.

Then, all of a sudden, things began to change. Both the State and the Town poured a ton of money into the Beach and slowly, but surely, the conditions began to change. Merchants invested in their properties, the beach area was significantly cleaned up, the parking was improved, restaurants began to meet the needs of the vacationing public, and law enforcement was increased to make the area safer, less scarey to adults and safer for children.

This took time and investment, both in money and spirit, but it is paying off.

Now, all of the above having been said, I am not so naive to say that the Beach has become a "choir boy of virtue", but I am willing to say that it is now a place that draws huge crowds of all ages.

Could this happen at Weirs Beach (?), I don't know, it would take effort on all sides of the table to put together a Plan, stick to the Plan, and work togvether to improve Weirs to a place of enjoyment safety and entertainment.

I'll take some tomorrow. Heading down that way for a Mothers Day cruise on the mount.