Many Hanover residents, accustomed to the town's colorful storefronts and busy streets, likely would not wax nostalgic for the town as it was just 20 years ago, when the downtown area was populated with "tired, broken-down houses," Sonya Campbell, owner of Hanover True Value hardware store, told The Dartmouth this week.
Much of the town's recent development has come at the hands of Dartmouth itself, Campbell, who has worked in Hanover for 33 years, said, recalling how various downtown Hanover properties were purchased and revitalized by the College.
Dartmouth's planned Visual Arts Center, which is expected to be completed in fall 2011, will be the next step in the College's recent expansion into Hanover's downtown area.
The College has owned property in Hanover since 1884, when it purchased the Hanover Inn. Around the same time, the College also purchased the Lang Building, which houses the Gap and several offices, Paul Olsen Tu '81, director of Dartmouth real estate, said.
In recent years, the College's downtown presence has seen substantial growth: The College bought 63 South Main Street in 1996 and purchased the property at 7 Lebanon Street in 2000. That same year, the College also purchased South Block, the property off the south end of Main Street, and Sargent Block, the property off Lebanon Street near the Lodge residence hall, from Hanover Investment Incorporation.
The purchases were met with enthusiasm by many Hanover residents, who were displeased with the state of the existing buildings and properties, Hanover Town Manager Julia Griffin told The Dartmouth.
"The town was pleased to support the Dartmouth College real estate office, because we knew they would be more responsible property owners than Hanover Investment, Inc., since they're here, and Hanover Investment, Inc., is not a local company," she said.
Olsen said representatives at the College had similar concerns about the properties then owned by Hanover Investment, Inc.
"We got a little nervous about how much of the town this private investor controlled, and we were concerned about the condition of the properties," Olsen said. "They were in really bad shape."
Campbell recalled that the house located next to Hanover True Value's previous location was commonly called the "crack house," which Olsen explained referred to the numerous cracks in the walls of the residence.
The College worked with the Town of Hanover to shape the development of its newly purchased properties. In 2000, before development on the South Block, Hanover town officials released the Downtown Vision Report, a long-term plan for the town's downtown area. The report stipulated that the town attempt to develop street-level retail business and maintain Hanover's New England village character, The Dartmouth previously reported.
"We essentially talked about the desire to have a mix of uses of downtown," Griffin said. "We discussed ways that buildings could engage streets better, dealing with parking setbacks and existing zoning ordinances."
The South Block, construction on which was completed in 2008, now houses Umpleby's Bakery, Ramunto's Brick n' Brew Pizzeria and Hanover True Value, as well as Yama Restaurant and the Mountain Goat.
"A long time ago, Hanover was a very sleepy town," said English professor Peter Travis, who has lived in Hanover for 20 years. "There was very little by way of stores and places to eat, and it is now considerably more energetic, and there are many more options in terms of stores and places to eat."
Plans for the Sargent Block, however, are not yet finalized, and Griffin said construction is unlikely to begin for at least five to 10 years because of the economic situation.
"Given what's going on with the economy, it makes it tough to tackle a big project like that unless you've got the financing and tenants," she said. "It is a risky time to undertake construction of new offices and residential spaces."
While many of the College's developments have been met with excitement from Hanover residents, the College's Visual Arts Center initially faced headwind from some local residents.
In early July, the town's planning board postponed voting on the Center's design after a number of Hanover residents sent e-mails and letters arguing that the proposal did not meet the long-term design goals for the downtown area, John Scherding, associate director for design in the College's Office of Planning, Design and Construction, previously told The Dartmouth.
Much of the dispute centered around the design's adherence to the Downtown Visions Report. Residents were concerned about maintaining an "engaging street front," despite the construction of an academic building in a downtown setting, Scherding said.
"There was no opposition at the first three hearings, but there was a fairly vocal minority that came out for the last hearing," he said. "It was really just three or four people that expressed opinions, but there had been concern addressed by the planning board."
Following the delayed vote, Scherding himself attended a planning board meeting and explained to the Board why the College had chosen several design features and fielded questions about the design from both the Board and the public. Richard Burke, the College's landscape architect, was also present during the meeting and answered several design-related questions, The Dartmouth previously reported.
"The College went into this project with a desire to create a very forward-thinking building that would serve the needs of the school and be respectful of the character of the downtown district," Scherding said. "Even though this will be a very modern building, we have worked very hard with the architects to have it be a building that still possesses craft and unit scale, and does not look like a forbidding slick box like some corporate architecture could be."
The design was approved on July 24.
As part of the construction on the Visual Arts Center, a three-story office building is planned to be constructed at 4 Currier Place. The first two floors will house the studio art department on an interim basis while the Center is under construction, and the third floor will be leased, Olsen said.
Danny Young, the manager of Molly's restaurant, said that he has seen drastic change in Hanover's character since he arrived in the town eight years ago.
"There definitely seems to be more stores and more businesses, and more competition for the consumer's dollar in town," he said.
Some aspects of the town, however, remain constant in the eyes of Hanover's longtime residents.
"To me, most things have stayed the same," Tracy Walsh '91, assistant dean for development and administration, said. "The Nugget and Lou's are still here, and my kids and I have always loved EBAs."
