Surf coaster usa
 

Drove by the old Surf Coaster today (sunday 12/27) and noticed that the fiberglass panels for the slides have been taken down and are piled together. The steel uprights still remain. Is something going into the property or?????

Must have passed you !!

Noticed the same thing/ same day ............. yet the site has the "For Sale" sign still in place.

I chocked it off to it being a hazard and needed to come down (before it fell down)

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The property is being rezoned to attract buyers.

from the Laconia Daily Sun 12/16/2015

LACONIA — A change in the zoning for the old Surf Coaster USA lots could make the land easier to sell. The City Council this week asked the Planning Board to rezone the two parcels at the corner of White Oaks Road and NH Route 11B at The Weirs by making them part of the Commercial Resort district. The water park, which featured a variety of slides and a wave pool, opened in 1983 and closed in 2006, according to weirsbeach.com.
The two lots are in three different zoning districts. The largest lot, 6.7-acres at the corner of White Oaks Road and Endicott Street East (Route 11B) that houses the pools and slides, is in three districts — Commercial Resort, Residential Single Family and Residential Rural II. The second lot of 4.6-acres, where the parking lot is located, lies south of the first along White Oaks Road in the Residential Single Family and Residential Rural II districts.
Each zoning district not only has a specific mix of permissible uses but also a different set of dimensional requirements, including minimum lot sizes, frontage, setbacks and open space and maximum densities and building heights, which together would hamstring any plans to redevelop the properties.
City Manager Scott Myers explained that the zoning of the property has hindered efforts to sell or redevelop it. He said yesterday that several parties have recently shown interest in the property.
In 2007, Rick Hassler of Weirs Beach Management LLC, which purchased the property in 2001, was granted a variance by the Zoning Board of Adjustment that enabled him to treat the two lots as one, which would be governed by the stipulations of the Commercial Resort District. At the time, Hassler sought a partner to redevelop the property as a resort hotel.
Since then, the property has lain fallow and the variance has expired. This spring, when the Planning Board proposed changes to the boundaries of the Commercial Resort and Shorefront Residential zones, both lots were included in the redrawn Commercial Resort district. However, the City Council tabled the proposal.
If the Planning Board grants the council's request to include both lots in the Commercial Resort district, the issue would be referred back to the council for final approval.

NOTE: The City Council will reopen discussion about zoning regulations at The Weirs in January. Mayor Ed Engler said time will be allotted to the issue at four consecutive council meetings. He explained that attention will be primarily focused on the uses permitted and requirement applied along US Route 3/NH Route 11B corridor, which lies within the Commercial Resort district. He stressed that while the discussion is open to all, 25 significant property owners have been identified and will be invited to participate in the discussions.

I'm surprised that they are taking the slides down, almost nothing has happened for 10 years. Recently videos of people skating on the slides have been posted online so the owner is probably afraid of the liabilty.

Does anyone know what slides there taking down? I know Crazy River, Hurricane and Tornado are supported by towers but the others rely mainly on the hill.

I am working on a website for Sure Coasters history and memories from it. If anyone would be open to taking photos of the deconstruction and letting me put them on the website I would greatly appreciate it. I will give you credit. I would myself but I live in central MA and can't get up there anytime soon. The website is not fully published yet but if it's allowed on this forum I will post a link to it once it's up. Also, if anyone has any memories or photos of the park I would like to gather a collection so people remember Surf Coaster even after its redeveloped.

My understanding is that the slides had become weathered and rough. They had become unusable. A fiberglass splinter while you are sliding would certainly get your attention. The direction they are heading with that property appears that it will never be a water park again.

In an area where commercial interests have to make their money in a short season a waterside has a shorter season and only does well in good weather.

I'm thinking it was an attractive nuisance and they were worried about being sued. I know in my school days we wouldn't have thought twice about a late night slide.

why the slides are being taken down
 

They are being taken down because they sold the slide and it is being sent south to be refurbished and set up at another water park. the cost of getting
rid of the slide was deterring potential buyers so they found someone who would take it.

Thats great news. Do you know what park they are heading too or who is doing the refurbishment? I could see them presenting a setback for buyers, but I thought all the concrete and the hill would present a much bigger one. I'm very happy to see the slides getting a new life though, hopefully the Surf Coaster lot gets one soon too.

I'm sad to see both waterparks are gone now, I used to love going to both when I was younger. The whole weirs is really falling apart it seems like.

Authorities are investigating a suspicious fire that broke out in a long-shuttered water park overnight in Laconia.


http://www.wmur.com/news/closed-wate...night/41921862

Thank goodness for well timed rain !


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i'm shocked! shocked !to see this place catch fire

I drove by and tried to see where the fire was but the place is so over grown and in shambles you can't see a thing!

When will the Weirs no longer resemble downtown Lowell? Place is turning into a dump in my opinion

Have you been to downtown Lowell lately?

Copied from here.
http://www.lowell.com/real-estate/downtown-lowell/


"Downtown Lowell is now widely considered a tourist destination for history buffs, and over the last decade, many historic buildings have been restored. The Boott Cotton Mill complex is home to luxury apartments, office space and lofts. Trendy stores and coffee shops have opened downtown, and the area has become a hub for great restaurants, fun nightlife, and Lowell’s annual events."


I'd be happy with only half of these problems. Maybe someday, someone, will figure out a way to turn it around into something better.

Spent some time at Umass Lowell a few years ago..wouldn't recommend it to anyone as a "tourist" spot. I'd also say to avoid the 3-4 L city's in that area.

You and I spend time at different UML's.

Sent from my XT1528 using Tapatalk

Wow, you definately haven't been to Lowell. Born and raised in Lowell I might be boast. I agree 20+ yes ago, downtown not so great, but now some of the best resteraunts in the area. I'll say this, downtown Lowell is a LOT nicer than downtown Laconia, and I like going to Laconia.

me too,
 

I was born and raised in Lowell also. I delivered the Lowell Sun for years and on Saturday morning would walk from my house to the Lowell Sun building with pockets full of coins and cash to pay the bill. I wouldn't do that now even with an armed guard. There is a lot of history in the mills along the Merrimack and the boat tours but I think the city has gone downhill. Asian gangs, drugs...a lot has changed.