Brownfields
Success Story
Franconia Paper Mill -
RiverWalk Resort
Lincoln, NH
A new luxury resort in the shadow of Loon Mountain ski area has
been constructed on the site of a former paper mill, mirroring the
town's economic transition from a mill town to a center for
tourism. Franconia Paper Mill which opened in the 1960s, was a
major economic driver for the Town of Lincoln before it closed in
the 1980s. The building stood vacant for 30 years before it was
demolished in 2009 to make way for new developments. The
construction project cost $50 million and created desperately
needed jobs. This included building a 170-unit residential hotel,
and commercial space with ski lockers and retail space. The luxury
resort with a restaurant, pub, swimming pools, a spa and a winery
has made a significant boost to the local economy.
Priming the Property for Redevelopment
Established in 1792, Lincoln's location and wealth of woodlands along
with the possibility of mills being powered by rivers made it the
perfect place to expand on the logging industry. Experienced loggers
were brought from New Zealand. With the 72-mile East Branch and
Lincoln Railroad being New England's largest logging railroad, the
logging business quickly boosted the area's economy. Franconia Paper
Mill operated for many years, but contamination left behind from the
blighted former paper mill posed challenges to the town in developing
the area. With buildings built in the early 1900s, the old paper mill
was in terrible conditions and had dangerous environmental hazards.
Contamination included asbestos containing building materials, such
as roofing materials, wall panels shingles, caulking, adhesive
materials. Lead-based paint was also an environmental concern.
A developer who was motivated to build a luxury resort or hotel
purchased the land. The NH Department of Environmental Services
Brownfields Revolving Loan Fund program provided an almost $1
million loan to clean up the contamination. The partnership of the
EPA, DES, Grafton County Economic Council, and the private
developer succeeded in developing this luxury resort at a cost of $50
million.
&EPA
United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
EPA Grant Recipient:
New Hampshire Department of
Environmental Services
Grant Type:
Revolving Loan Fund
Former Use:
Franconia Paper Mill
Current Use:
Luxury Resort

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Today
The site has been redeveloped into a four-season mountain resort
known as RiverWalk Resort at Loon Mountain, creating a long-
awaited economic boost in the region, giving new opportunities to
people looking to buy condominiums, and increasing the town's tax
base.
The resort's green features add to the benefits of this project, A fully
automated centrally monitored HVAC system increases energy
efficiency by maintaining relative temperature and humidity, LED
lighting, automatic lights in hallways, and a requirement that key
cards be used to activate power also increase energy efficiency.
"Traditional financial institutions
will not fund environmental
remediation, therefore the first
step in revitalizing the property
was finding funding to remediate.
With no traditional financial
options available it was vital that
NH Brownfields stepped in to
help kickoff the project. Without
the funding from NH Brownfields
this project may not have been
built. In addition to the funding
itself, NH Brownfields was
paramount in collaboration with
the developers and NHDES
throughout the entire process
ensuring all steps along the way
met state and federal guidelines
for remediation. NH Brownfields
was a pleasure to work with."
Dennis Ducharme, President
RiverWalk Resort at Loon Mountain
For more information:
Visit the EPA Brownfields website at
www.epa.gov/brownfields or contact
Joe Ferrari at 617-918-1105 or Ferrari.joe@epa.gov.
EPA 560-F-20-015
May 2020

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