Southern NH Medical – Pepperell MA

A&M completed civil engineering and landscape architectural services for a new 11,300 square foot medical building located on a 2.9 acre parcel within the Commercial District of downtown Pepperell, MA.

The new medical building was required to meet the expanding needs of Southern NH Health System and Foundation Medical Partners, which had outgrown their building.  The new facility provides local immediate care and reflects a new paradigm in health care, where the services are moved into the community and the trips to the central hospital are reserved for emergencies and inpatient care.

The primary hurdle in the design and permitting of the project was the wetland resource areas; in particular, Riverfront Area.  Varnum Brook runs along the easterly side of the property and the associated Riverfront Area covers two-thirds of the site.  Additionally, the site was primarily green space with little impervious area.

The solution was to classify the project as a "Redevelopment" under the Riverfront Area regulations and incorporate an on-site mitigation area to compensate for the added building and pavement areas.  The mitigation created a wet meadow along the Varnum Brook.  In addition to meeting the regulatory requirements of the Wetlands Protection Act, the wet meadow is a landscape feature that compliments the use of the site and provides visual interest to the patients visiting the site.