Franklin’s Mill City Park getting closer to completion

Concord Monitor | Ben Domanigue | December 13, 2021

Kayaking may not be the first thing that comes to mind at the start of winter unless your name is Marty Parichand.

As executive director of Mill City Park at Franklin Falls, Parichand has overseen the construction of New England’s first white water park.

The park’s first feature – its standing wave – is mostly complete with construction crews still working on the stone “wings” at either side of the river that direct the water over the new man-made obstacle.

The free park is a combination of in-river and on-land attractions with the white water features taking center stage. The river work is slated to be completed by early spring of next year. Construction just resumed, with a flow study recently completed.

“We’ve created a structure that goes on the river bottom, and the water goes over the top of it. After the water goes over it, it recoils and creates a feature that never goes away. It’s going to have a wave every time,” said Parichand. “Lower flows it’ll be great for boogie boarders, higher flows will be better for kayakers.”

Marty Parichand, who owns Outdoor New England kayak and gear shop in downtown Franklin – has worked for six years to make the park a reality.

“In many aspects, I think it already has put Franklin on the map,” said Parichand. “People are thinking differently and putting money into the town.”

With the development of Highland Mountain Bike Park in Northfield, the region has seen increased tourism. Parichand believes Mill City Park will complement Highland Mountain Bike Park, serving to rebrand the area south of Lake Winnipesaukee into something distinct within New England.

“It’s branding the region as a different kind of region. We’re not the White Mountains, we have an industrial past,” said Parichand. “This will be the only place you can pair mountain biking and white water kayaking in one place.”

Though nearing its completion, Parichand notes the project didn’t come without its hiccups.

Permitting, fundraising and even public support took time to build.

“Personally, I was too idealistic, I thought it could be finished a lot faster than it could’ve been,” said Parichand. “I didn’t understand the toll of being so public with this idea while starting a business while raising a kid. There were moments I thought it was going to end.”

Eventually, as more businesses moved into the downtown and the project gained more support, it turned a corner.

“Change is really hard. Change is even harder in New England,” said Parichand. “Since then, a lot of people have chosen to get involved, and the concept has grown and grown and grown.”

Parichand estimates that for every two people using the white water features in the river, there will be eight people participating in land-based activities.

The project has garnered support from the Northern New England Chapter of the American Planners Association, winning their regional planners award and the Northern New England Project of the Year award in 2019.

Parichand remains steadfast that the investment into Mill City Park will benefit Franklin, by reinvigorating the downtown and bolstering funding for schools and roads.

“As this is happening, we’ll see a positive influx of people wanting to come here, wanting to live here,” said Parichand. “The city’s roads will get better, there will be more public amenities, and the public school system will hopefully have an influx of cash.”

The ribbon-cutting ceremony for the completed park is slated to take place in June of 2022.

A worker guides an excavator operator over the last portion of the concrete, rebar and stone boxes part of the 10-feet wide and 8-feet tall area in the Winnipesaukee River for the Mill City Park at Franklin Falls rafting area in downtown Franklin on Monday, December 6, 2021. GEOFF FORESTER—Monitor staff Testing

Excavators operator work on the last portion of the concrete, rebar and stone boxes part of the 10-feet wide and 8-feet tall area in the Winnipesaukee River for the Mill City Park at Franklin Falls rafting area in downtown Franklin on Monday, December 6, 2021. GEOFF FORESTER—Monitor staff Testing

An overall of the Winnipesaukee River and the Mill City Park at Franklin Falls rafting area in downtown Franklin on Monday, December 6, 2021. GEOFF FORESTER—Monitor staff Testing

Two workers guide an excavator operator over the last portion of the concrete, rebar and stone boxes, part of the 10-foot-wide and 8-foot-tall area in the Winnipesaukee River for the Mill City Park rafting area in downtown Franklin on Dec. 6. GEOFF FORESTER / Monitor staff Testing

A worker guides an excavator operator over the last portion of the concrete, rebar and stone boxes part of the 10-feet wide and 8-feet tall area in the Winnipesaukee River for the Mill City Park at Franklin Falls rafting area in downtown Franklin on Monday, December 6, 2021. GEOFF FORESTER—Monitor staff Testing

Two workers guide an excavator operator over the last portion of the concrete, rebar and stone boxes part of the 10-feet wide and 8-feet tall area in the Winnipesaukee River for the Mill City Park at Franklin Falls rafting area in downtown Franklin on Monday, December 6, 2021. GEOFF FORESTER—Monitor staff Testing

A worker guides an excavator operator over the last portion of the concrete, rebar and stone boxes, part of the 10-foot-wide and 8-foot-tall area in the Winnipesaukee River for the Mill City Park on Dec. 6. GEOFF FORESTER / Monitor staff Testing

A sign showing the graphic of what the Mill City Park at Franklin Falls project will look like near dowtown Franklin GEOFF FORESTER—Monitor staff Testing

https://www.concordmonitor.com/Work-on-Franklin-Falls-water-park-coming-along-43876397