Exeter’s downtown to get a new public park to replace 'eyesore' thanks to donation

EXETER — A new public park may soon replace a long-vacant property on Water Street, where a fire left nothing but rubble and an “eyesore” for the residents.

Elliott Berkowitz and Nancy Phillips have decided to donate the property at 23 Water St. as a gift to the town.

The couple purchased the 3,300-square-foot property between The Chocolatier and Il Cornicello in 2018 with plans to develop it into a three-story multi-use building. However, when the COVID-19 pandemic hit, the cost of construction went up and halted those plans.

Berkowitz said the decision to donate the land to the town was the “right purpose” compared to keeping it undeveloped or selling it to another developer.

Phillips said the park will keep their legacy in town alive. Their only stipulation, she said, was that the space be turned into a public park and named after the couple's company, PairPoint.

“We thought that it would be a much nicer gesture on our part to do something that the whole town could enjoy… it would be there forever,” she said. “We envision it as a beautiful place for people to come and sit, look at the river and really stunning landscaping and gardens.”

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Darren Winham, the town’s economic development director, said the donation came together quickly.

He said the town initially looked to rent the property from the owners to turn the empty space into a park. But Berkowitz and Phillips, he said, decided to donate it instead.

Winham said a state law adopted by voters years ago allows the town's Select Board to buy, sell and receive donations of land. However, before the Select Board can do that, such a proposal must gain the support of the Planning Board and Conservation Commission. Because the property is in the town’s Historic District, Winham said it also needed approval from the Historic District Commission and Heritage Commission.

On Thursday, all four boards met to unanimously recommend the Select Board accept the donation. On Friday, the Select Board was scheduled to hold the first of two required public hearings to get resident feedback on the donation. The next public hearing will be held Monday, Dec. 18.

Winham said the only caveat with this donation was that Berkowitz and Phillips said it needed to be done by the end of the year.

Phillips said the timeline was “simply the matter of estate planning.”

“We’re both in our 70s,” she said. “We thought we’d do something really nice for the town before we kicked the can.”

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A great fit for Exeter’s downtown

Winham said it’s outside of the box for economic developers to choose a public park over a “building that pays taxes,” but it’s a “better fit” for downtown.

“(The park) is a better fit economically, culturally, and aesthetically,” he said.

Winham said from his point of view, there are “100 reasons that I think this is a good idea.”

“A parcel like this – right on this side of Water Street and on the water (and) access to the water, with the views, the benefits that would have to other existing businesses in town and the access and proximity to public parking makes this something we really can’t pass up,” he said.

Prior to the purchase in 2018, 23 Water Street was vacant for over three decades.

A fire in June 1990 destroyed what was Exeter Jewelers’ former location and a shoe store. Both businesses had apartments above.

The only remnants of the buildings are the stone foundations barricaded behind a rotting wooden fence.

Julie Gilman, a Select Board representative on the Heritage Commission, said this would be the fourth town property to be turned into a park, the first three being Swasey Parkway, Founders Park and Townhouse Common.

The town officials will form a committee to design and maintain the park if the Select Board approves the donation. Phillips, who made the donation, asked to be on the committee.

"We just want to make sure – because we're donating it to the town – that it actually becomes a beautiful park and that it's very properly kept up," said Phillips. "I actually love gardening and flowers, so I have a lot of ideas, but just want to make sure I have my hand in it, so it ends up how we envisioned it."

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This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: Exeter NH to get new public park at 23 Water Street 'eyesore' site