Retro arcade highlights changes coming to Claremont

CLAREMONT, N.H. (WCAX) – An old-school arcade is the most recent addition to downtown Claremont, New Hampshire. It’s one piece in a much bigger puzzle to revitalize town.

Site visitors is as soon as once more flowing on Nice Avenue in Claremont because the neighborhood continues to search for methods to reinvent itself. Typically, whilst you look ahead, you possibly can look again on the identical time. Pac-Man is certainly one of two dozen video games in Drew Herron’s newly opened Zoltar’s Arcade on Nice Avenue. It’s received a bunch of the classics.

“All of the individuals who had been youngsters again then now have cash and are older and expendable revenue, so they’re coming to the realm and so they need stuff to do and so they need to have that nostalgia,” Herron mentioned.

The road has been beneath building for a 12 months. Together with new water and sewer infrastructure, site visitors was re-routed and sidewalks widened. Ending touches at the moment are being made. One objective is to extend foot site visitors downtown. Rose Aremburg has owned a stitching store for seven years and says the plan is already working. “Simply this morning there have been 4 folks strolling up and down the streets that I’ve by no means seen earlier than. They mentioned they had been from out of city and so they had been simply strolling up and down the road checking the brand new locations out.” Aremburg mentioned.

The road accommodates an eclectic mixture of unbiased shops. Carla Brinn opened her salon a couple of 12 months in the past. “Small companies thrive as a result of we’re creating jobs, jobs that we like to do,” she mentioned.

And new companies provide extra choices for people who find themselves transferring to this rising neighborhood. “Extra individuals who work at Dartmouth-Hitchcock and different locations are transferring right here simply due to the housing market,” Herron mentioned.

Two blocks away, a refurbished 83-unit residence advanced was absolutely leased out in a matter of weeks. Tenants are set to start transferring on September 1st. “You want housing, you want enterprise, you want infrastructure. The general public sector is clearly part of this,” mentioned Nancy Merrill, town’s planning and growth director.

Claremont was as soon as a thriving mill city, from machine producers to textile mills., however these jobs finally left, leaving hardship that’s nonetheless seen. However slowly, progress is being made. Whether or not it’s a rehabbed mill, a metropolis road, or a retro arcade. “Ongoing course of right here. We’ve received different initiatives within the works, so it doesn’t cease with Nice Avenue,” Merrill mentioned.

A block occasion is being deliberate for August thirteenth on Nice Avenue. It’s an opportunity for folks to return collectively to have fun the previous, current, and way forward for this neighborhood.

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