Tuscan Village Receives EBC-NE Collaboration Award
The Environmental Business Council of New England (EBC-NE) named Tuscan Village, a sustainable mixed-use development in Salem, NH, as the winner of the 2024 Nicholas Humber Award for Outstanding Collaboration. The award recognizes a project which demonstrates exemplary collaboration between individuals and organizations while improving the quality of the environment. Developer Tuscan Village engaged our team to provide site/civil and landscape architecture services for the project, which has helped to fulfill the vision of the development as having social, environmental, and economic benefits.
Policy Brook at Tuscan Village during construction
Located on the site of the former Rockingham Park racetrack, Tuscan Village is currently in the third phase of development, with hundreds of apartments and significant retail space already leased. In 2023, Tuscan Village opened its first hotel, The Artisan, a 165-room space that is managed by Marriott International’s Tribune Portfolio.
In the last year, the development’s Christmas tree lighting drew nearly 10,000 guests, while the Artisan hotel hosted Presidential candidates from both parties during the 2024 New Hampshire primaries. The development is expected to benefit the Town of Salem by generating millions in tax revenue, as well as permanent jobs for the Town and region.
Before development could begin, our engineers worked with the developer and contractor to ecologically restore the site. Our design took an innovative approach to the property’s challenges by reconnecting the development to the natural environment that existed prior to the racetrack.
The finished daylighting of Policy Brook created more than 3,000 linear feet of natural stream and adjacent floodplain, providing opportunities to celebrate the brook and wildlife to flourish.
The redevelopment of the 170-acre site posed a challenge as a significant portion of it was located in the floodplain. To integrate green infrastructure and restore the ecosystem, the project team implemented large-scale solutions. One of the noteworthy sustainable features of this redevelopment was the daylighting of Policy Brook, which was previously culverted to construct the racetrack.
The reshaping of the floodplain during the daylighting of Policy Brook helped alleviate flooding concerns during large storm events and created a thriving habitat for aquatic and terrestrial species. This restoration project also resulted in the creation of over 3,000 linear feet of natural stream and adjacent floodplain, providing ample opportunities to experience and celebrate the brook.
Tuscan Lake with the surrounding beach and dock for people to use for kayaking and other recreational activities.
The project also involved the transformation of an existing irrigation pond into the picturesque 2.5-acre Tuscan Lake, accompanied by a programmable greenspace – Lake Park. The installation of strategically placed rain gardens throughout the property ensures controlled stormwater runoff, contributing to the overall sustainability of the site.
The multiphase plan for the 170-acre site has struck a successful balance between retail, office, and residential uses while keeping the site’s environment and water ecosystems flourishing. The Town of Salem will see economic benefits, such as a re-established tax base and an increase in permanent jobs, as subsequent project phases are implemented.