Weirs Beach Water Slide
 

Does anybody know what the slide sold for?

$580,000.00 to sit there. New owner hopes that someone will lease.

Story here:

http://www.wmur.com/news/22312919/detail.html

Pretty smart
 

While I'm certainly no expert, my uneducated opinion is that, if this young investor, of just 30 years of age, can afford to sit on the property for a bit ( maybe a couple of years, or a touch longer) and the Weirs makes a comeback, which I believe it eventually will, and turns into something like Meredith, he has stolen it for $580,000. If that area can become what it once was, and attract the visitors it once did, it would seem to be a property worth well above a half million.
Granted, I am not talking about an economic upturn, thus returning vacationers to the area. I'm talking about a full scale tear down, and rebuild of the entire Weirs strip.

SurfCoaster
 

I believe I had also heard that there was a party interested in the SurfCoaster that would like to turn it into an indoor waterpark/hotel.

I heard from a very good source that he will move the park and re-develope the land.

Why would they want to rebuild the whole weirs? There's a lot of history there. Why erase another piece of history with all brand new stuff? There's nothing wrong with the buildings. The economy stinks, and until it improves, people aren't gonna spend money.

history
 

I disagree the wiers was ruined when the old hotel burned down and very non history filled buildings went up. The best thing for the weirs would be for the buildings that were built after the fire, would be for them to burn down and the old hotel rebuilt and all the real historic building redone.
If you can't do that then the street is to large, parking should be moved and the whole area turned into a pedestrian zone and build on that theme.

The Weirs has been declining since long before the economy tanked. It is clearly the eyesore of the waterfront communities around the lake. Wipe the slate and start back at what was there before or the ped area is a good idea, but the carnaval atmosphere needs to go, imo.

I agree
 

I hear you and agree completly, if I could just win the powerball, I would make it happen, any day now :D

I have owned and operated two seasonal business on the lake. The Weirs has nothing to offer the vacationer or summer residents. That area could be a gold mine if it was brought up to date.

what?
 

What? you mean you don't like the plane crashing into the Lava flowing volcano. But what a picturesque site overlooking the lake. Should have left that blueprint in the Salisbury MA. area.

Two very classy venues: www.kellerhaus.com, and www.winniplayhouse.com make their home in the Weirs! Olde world quality from the past that continues to shine, in a beautifull scenic neighborhood.

Here's the plan to renew the Weirs: replace the volcano waterslide with a stylized volcano casino loaded with slots, roulette, twenty-one, 5 card drawer and lo-price buffet meals, and watch it grow itself, double-down fast, all the way to Tower Ave.

Shaazzzzzzzam....the Weirs needs a new pair of shoes!

Water Slide Was Fun
 

I feel bad about the Water Slide. We take the kids there every summer and they have a fun time. The parents can sit and watch and listen to music on the radio they play, a good way to spend a few hours cooling off on a hot summer day.

Its funny I read here the complaints about the weirs, and being an eye sore.... Then I think back on every summer for the last 20 years, and realize that every weekend parking for a boat or a car is at a premium. Sure it isn't like Meredith or Wolfeboro.... But personally I don't want it to be. History or not the Wiers is what it is. It remains busy and thriving all summer long. The business there are set up as season enterprises, and the reason they open up every year is that they have fiqured out deal with the ups and downs.

When you look at the Valcano, and waterslides, the biggest problem there is the lack or up keep and evolution. With the right investors and some money that particular business could be turned around.

Just An Idea
 

How about a BIG Scary State Of The Art Roller Coaster..?? If the cars could be equipped with a removable Hardtop for winter opps...would that work.....? No need for the rest of the supporting "entertainment"....just the coaster. :look:

Now back to your regularly schedualled programming. :D NB

I like the casino idea. Love them or hate them... Casino's make money faster and better than almost any other investment on the planet. I dont wanna turn this thread into a casino issue but I just like the idea from a property owner's stand point as well as a patron.

Well, I'm only 27 years old, and the weirs is the way I've always remembered it, so to me it wouldn't be the same without the arcades, and the gift shops. I used to go in the arcades as a kid, and it was fun. The wiers could indeed be turned around, but it takes money, and people aren't going to invest it in something like that in such bad times. People are hanging onto what they have right now, because they don't know what the economy is gonna do. I don't know what the guy who bought the slide is gonna do with the property, but he must have money he can afford to lose if he just invested over a half-million dollars in something that may or may not make him his money back, and turn a profit. It's gonna be tough with the economy. No one is doing anything right now. I took a ride up rte 16 today, and soooo many empty buildings! I don't care what they're saying about the economy "improving". It's not. My company just had a layoff last week! In my book, the economy won't be fully recovered until EVERYBODY has a job!

your age
 

corrolaman,
You are showing your age, it make sense that some one your age would have that outlook, you must have started out in life after school in the crappy economy. But trust me having lived through 3 of these down economies, now is the time to invest, buy as much as you can get your hands on. Land, like the water slides will be worth many times that in the long term, people don't buy stuff like that to flip (like a house). In a dozen or so years, everyone will say that gold mine sold for nothing, pocket change compared to what it is worth.
Now is the time to be moving forward, get your traction and catch the economy, with a full inventory or whatever (all created/procured in the cheap down economy)
KRMRK

krm is right.

If you are looking for commerical property right now, it's a major buyers market. If you have the money to capitalize on it, you better get in the game now.....

Weirs Restrooms - YUK!!!!!!!!
 

The first thing that could really improve the Weirs with little money is to clean up those terrible bathrooms where everyone goes before having to get on the Mount for their cruise. Ladies we all know too well if we have to use the bathroom we have to not just hover but we also have to try to hold up our pants or long skirts off the floor and also try to hold on to the bathroom door for privacy because there are no latches on any of the doors. At times it smells so bad you wish you had a clothespin for your nose. It is a real embarrassment not just to us but to Weirs to bring our company down to enjoy a nice dinner and dancing evening on the Mount and hope they don’t have to use the ladies room before or after the cruise. I also heard that the men’s bathrooms are not much better. The only time these bathrooms are in clean condition is during motorcycle weekend and then you have to pay to use them. There is no reason for these bathrooms to be in this condition. Wolfeboro really improved the conditions of their bathrooms why can’t the Weirs? They seem to rake in plenty of money from the cruises and taxes why not use some of it to clean up the bathrooms and maybe that would increase the vacationers and that would increase the revenue. I know I no longer take my company on the Mount for a cruise so they are not getting my money anymore.

I agree
 

Safetydoe, you are so right! I avoid those bathrooms like the plague. Anyone know who is responsible for their upkeep? As far as renovating the Weirs goes, I would hope the Veteran's buildings that are left would remain. They are,to me,the best part of the Weirs, after the lake, of course!:)

I used to feel the same way as some nostalgia buffs here about the Weirs. Now? I go to Funspot. The Weirs is a tremendous waste of a fantastic location. Not only an eyesore, it's a waste of precious resources.

What I or you would do with it is wasted time on too much thinking. It's what would be Allowed to do there. Many times, I'll bet in situations like this, the environmentalists and the people handling the zoning issues wish they could take some of their rules back.

The Weirs will remain the same until...
 

The Weirs will remain the same until the next monsoon comes and all the rain water comes gushing down the street as a result from all the developers who think progress is tearing down every tree in sight and replacing it with hot top. Maybe this will be a good thing ... maybe a bad...I guess it depends on how you look at...IMO it will be natures revenge against ugliness!

BTW: The Laconia town planners have it in for those who like good old New England Towns. Look what they did when Laconia Center was "re-developed"...one big ugly parking garage in the middle of a bunch of historic mill buildings. And now look what they are allowing the WoW trail enthusiast do...spoil the scenic shores of Paugus and Meredith Bay with their ugly chain linked fences, giant cement retaining walls and asphalt paths. I wonder who will pay for the repairs when the next monsoon ravages through the lakes region again. It certainly won't be the City of Laconia, they are still pointing the fingers down in Capitol Hill trying to get them to cough up the money. I sure hope Scott Brown votes no on this one, why should all US tax payers cough up the money for bad town planning and developers who don't understand you can't pave a mountain side with cement and tar.

Weirs restrooms are horrid dirty smelly never clean I just go there and get out fast but I have seen cleaner restrooms at my ex college ( laguardia CC) and also on Rest Areas on I 91, Mass Pike, I 84, I 684, and I-93 after Hooksett tolls the only one thats not as clean is I-495 southbound. I think the mount pple clean it I have seen the guy with the long hair down there once when it was flooded.

My feeling is that the whole Weirs area needs a total renovation including the offerings of activities. The city should have a master plan for renovation. Hire a consulting firm. Visit other waterfront areas and see what is working. IF they keep doing what they've been doing, were only going to see the same result of empty buildings and less visitors.

At a 7.5% unemployment for Laconia, and Belknap County, that makes Belknap County the 2nd highest out of all 11 NH counties behind the 9.5% Coos County, which is way up north.

I wonder why the rate for Belknap is so high? A couple reason are: the closing of the State Prison in Laconia, and closing of Freudenburg-NOK , a car-parts maker, in Laconia. Both employed over 100 people with good pay.
The slowdown in residential construction and remodeling is probably a big factor too.

For the waterslide location, maybe Dunkin Donuts will move in? I already have a maroon red Dunkin Donuts sport-shirt that says DUNKIN DONUTS- Five Years, that I bought for a dollar at the Etcetera Shoppe, as a joke. So, when DD opens I'll be right there, look'n for a job!:)

Right now is a horrible time to buy into commercial real estate. Commercial real estate has lost a lot of its value over the past two years but what makes you think it’s the bottom right now?

Free market economist who predicted this economic downturn very accurately at the height of the real estate bubble would disagree with you. They believe over the next few years that the commercial real estate bubble will burst.

Although I am very close in age to corrolaman I think the Weirs area has been on the decline for a while now. Hopefully this young investor can be part of the turnaround we’d all like to see.

Leave it all alone!
 

The thing that I like best about the lake is that there is a little bit of everything for everyone. Wolfeboro and Meredith are definitely upscale. The Weirs is kitschy (I am sure that is spelled wrong), but I love it the way it is. Alton is somewhere in between. Moultonboro, Tuftonboro and Center Harbor are, mostly, "bedroom" communities.

I remember when the Weirs had bowling. You can still see the lanes at the Half Moon. I can see the merit in upgrading and modernizing the Weirs, but I wouldn't mind if it stayed the way it was. Of course, my kids love the Volcano Mini-Golf. Frankly, it was one of the best. I haven't been to the waterslide there since I was a teenager. My kids, oddly, don't want to try the waterslides there, but they did enjoy Surf Coaster a few times. (We go to Water Country now).

It's too bad there isn't a way to make what is there great without destroying the history. I hate to see everything slowly disappear. I see it every summer. I was devastated when Bailey's in Wolfeboro became The Front Porch (even though I know the current owners). I like the new mini-golf in Alton, but we miss the old one terribly. The Pavilion in Alton Bay is a crime. I can't believe that McGrath's is gone finally and forever. If Black's in Wolfeboro or the Old Country Store in Moultonboro ever close, I will simply curl up and die!

I know things change, but that doesn't mean I have to like it.

nj2nh

Why now? Because there is a lot of inventory and you can name your deal. When the market recovers the best locations and deals will already be gone. Real estate lags the economy.

By this logic though we should still have motels in the area with no indoor plumbing or 'lectricity.

Sometimes things run their course, customers desires change, and places (like the Lakes Region) that ultimately survive on cash influxes from visitors are best served adapting to the times.

The historic Weirs certainly sounds like it was a great location in its heyday, when it offered the things that people wanted. The Weirs of today is simply leaving money on the table by refusing to adapt to the modern customer.

Nostalgia is nice, but it rarely pays the bills.

?
 

Long Bay, I was given the impression you live in South Down /Long Bay? Isn't that a big development, where they paved a mountain/hill side with tar, and clear cut?

Yes I live in the area.
No, there was no clear cutting done on over the 500 acres of development. Many retaining ponds were put in during the development and their were restrictions on the amount of pavement. There are no chain link fences in the development, and ugly cement retaining walls. If you go through the development, you will see lots of trees and wildlife. During the monsoon, there was some damage, however, being a private development the residents of this community did not get any handouts from the local, state or federal government to do the repairs.

Laconia ran out of money to fix the monsoon damage done at the Weirs during the last monsson. This is a certain indicator Loconia has no money to take on the maintenance of future infrastructure including the WOW trail. As one other person indicated people should focus on getting the Weirs to look half decent. And the bathrooms...now I know why the bacteria count raises so high. BTW Laconia residents drink that water!

Sorry
 

Sorry, I did not realize that all the shoreline and hill sides that are now grass were naturally clearcut. ;)

My point was...
 

I think you are missing my point. SouthDown and Long Bay were clear cut just like all of the shores of Winninpesaukee and it's islands for farming and grazing. Over the years, much of the land was taken back by forest.

My point was without proper development planning, nature has a way of taking back things. When the monsoon came causing millions of dollars in damage at the Weirs, the damage at Southdown was not even close. No major damage was done at Long Bay.

The Weirs is a perfect example of poor planning and business owners who don't have enough capital to stay competitive. Each year the area looks more worn down. I have been visiting the area for over 25 years and as most agree, nothing much has changed. Well, someday if not already, the Cash Cow business model falls apart and without good leadership and vision, those types of businesses eventually go under. So, look at how many store fronts are boarded up at the Weirs vs. those up at Meridith, North Conway, Waterville Valley, Loon Mountain, Bretton Woods, etc. Those communities that keep up with the times will prosper and those that don't will become another down and out kind of place.

BTW: When gambling comes to NH it won't be at the Weirs due to a number factors: Not enough parking, too many environmental permits will be needed because it is close to a shoreline and watershed providing drinking water to a major population, not close to a highway, not close to MA and RI. When NH allows gambling, it will probably go to Hampton Beach which is in need of a major makeover as well. If it does not go to Hampton Beach, some community right off of one of those RT 93 exits will get it. Lets see, there is a big race track that only gets used a few times a year, an amusement park right off 93 that could be quickly bulldozed and turned into a Casino, and lots of boarder towns that would quickly raise their hand for some gambling action.
With that said, we can all wait fore someone else to give us the golden egg or do what other communities have done all on their own.

It is a shame people like Mr. Marriott can't re-build part of the Weirs rather than put up a hotel right down the street on a piece of vacant land. I guess when he visits his summer home, he either likes the Weirs for all its wonder and wants to keep it as is or he stays 10 miles away from it. I would love to know his opinion on the matter. His company has done great things re-developing areas (look at Boston's Long Warf project and Copley Place).

Businesses are shrinking or closing at all levels of the economy. (Starbucks, KB toys, Home Depot, mom and pop shops) Who is going to buy or rent these vacant spaces? As long as businesses continue to down size, we will see the price of commercial real estate go down.

Mike, all those reasons are precisely why it's the time to buy commercial property. Lots of inventory means big-time buyers market.

What you are thinking is of someone flipping the thing and having a whiz-bang operation by summer. The reality is you have to have deep pockets and can handle the carrying cost. It's a longer term investment.

Pick five of those properties that are in otherwise good locations and look at what the cost. Pull that list out in 10 years and see what they are worth ;)

Just wait a year or two and see how much better that buyers market becomes. You perceive a lot of inventory as a market signal to buy; I perceive that as an overpriced market.
What you are thinking is of a time in our history when this country saved and produced, not spent and borrowed like the unfortunate reality we live in. What you are forgetting is the ugly fact that in the past few decades we’ve gone from the largest creditor nation to the world’s largest debtor nation. To over simplify it, prices have been bid up because of easy credit. None of the underlying issues that caused this bubble, or any bubble for that matter have been corrected, they’ve only been exacerbated.

As far as this water slide is concerned it may have been a great deal at its selling price, but the overwhelming majority of commercial and residential real estate will be worth much less in 10 years when measured in real value, not nominal.

In general investors would be better off waiting until after the crash to invest, not before. ;)

Bummer
 

Well, I may be 62, but I still love the water slide, as does our 9-yr-old granddaughter. She will be heartbroken when I tell her it's gone. Yes, the entire Weirs area needs an update, but can't that happen while still preserving the best parts?

Jeanzb1....makes me sad too. When I was growing up the Weirs was a magical place for kids and families...Irwins Gardens, boat rides, wonderful shops and restaurants. You couldn't find a parking spot between June and early september............But somehow, everyone sold out to bike week and you can't make a living in 10 days.

Thanks
 

Thanks for your analysis Mike M. Nostaglia is great, but there are many of us who are nearing the end of their careers and the last downturn bit us in the aZZ again and we need to recoup, but not extend ourselves as much as we have with commercial real estate again.

Mike, it's very easy to be pessimistic right now. I am not exactly liberal in spending by any stretch. Trying to time the precise bottom is impossible.

I'm not going to enter a prolonged debate about RE. I can tell you right now I would put all my chips on the table to buy commerical RE if I had deeper pockets.

The Weirs area needs to reinvent itself. It's too run-down. We almost never go there anymore, maybe once per year at most.

I have been going there since I was 8 and now I am 29 I love the Weirs but its getting old and outdated. It needs to be shaken up new things are needed. Its like stale air and fresh air is needed to breathe new life into the Weirs. Do not get me wrong I love the Weirs but it needs changed or it will go kaboom and nothing will be left.

I'm not sure what your educational or professional background is Mike, but I think you would be hard pressed to find many people who would agree with that statement.

About four house lots up the road from the Waterslide, there's a parking lot on a single one acre lot that was carved out of the residential hillside, and bordered on both sides by single family residences.

For an example of an incredibly bad land use decision by the Laconia Planning Board, go take a look at it. About ten years ago the planning board approved the demolition of the existing older hillside house, and excavation to make a parking lot that is level with the road. Turning a residence into a commericial lot as a year-round parking lot and Motorcycle week vender set-up was allowed by the city. With comments like:" It's his property and he can do what he wants to do," it got approved by a 3-2 vote, or something.
...........

Building a casino with slot machines in that Waterslide location would be like starting a serious crack-cocaine addiction into the area. It would get a lot of people hooked on gambling and just suck the money out of them and creat a big bucket of side-social issues.

The Fun Spot Bingo Hall seems to be pretty busy, judging by the parking lot, so's a casino would probably become a magnet for people looking for something to do. Is that a good thing?

About four house lots up the road from the Waterslide, there's a parking lot on a single one/half acre lot that was carved out of the residential hillside, and bordered on both sides by single family residences.

For an example of an incredibly bad land use decision by the Laconia Planning Board, go take a look at it. About ten years ago the planning board approved the demolition of the existing older hillside house, and excavation deep into the grassy hillside to make a 1/2 acre parking lot that is level with the road. Turning a residence into a commericial lot as a year-round (i.e. seasonal) parking lot and Motorcycle Week vender set-up was allowed by the City. With comments like:" It's his property and he can do what he wants to do," it got approved by something like a 3-2 vote.
...........

Building a casino with slot machines in that Waterslide location would be like starting a serious crack-cocaine addiction into the area. It would get a lot of people hooked on gambling and just suck the money out of them and create a big bucket of side-social issues.

The Fun Spot Bingo Hall seems to be pretty busy, judging by the parking lot, so's a casino would probably become a magnet for people looking for something to do. Is that a good thing?

Just thought that folks might like to know that this property is still in the hands of the original owners. The young man that purchased the property did so at the request of the previous owners. They had to get out from under an awful mess that will come closer to light as time goes by, but that is not for me to discuss.

The owner of the drive-in, confirmed this.

It is not going to be developed into anything else.

Perhaps
 

But this article in the Citizen seems to belie the fact that the original owner still has the property:

http://www.citizen.com/apps/pbcs.dll...880/-1/CITIZEN

I sent you a message

Is this the same Baldi family that is selling the movie-house in downtown Laconia to the city of Laconia for 1.8 million dollars ?

This sounds fishy.

He files bankruptcy, but somehow there's enough money at hand for his wife to buy a restaurant?

What's this about a 30 year old straw man buying the Water Slide at auction for him / her?

Hello, bankruptcy trustee?:confused:

No one is going to build a casino on a postage stamp size lot with inadequate roads leading to and from it. There's no room for expansion or improvement. A casino, if it is ever done, is going to be closer to I-93 on a large parcel of land allowing room to expand and have roadways large enough to handle the traffic. There is no property anywhere near Weirs Beach that is going to catch the eye of a casino developer. Just my 2 cents.

I Have A Picture...
 

That I took once in winter, if ya'all want to see it... :D



Terry
_________________________________

Will it be open in 2010 as a waterslide?

Every indication from the owner shows that to be the case.

And two years later .... nothing has changed...
 

I stumbled upon this thread I posted to a couple of years ago. It is interesting to see which predictions have come to be, those we are still hoping for and those it's just not going to happen.

I don't think one of my predictions will come to be as Massachusetts just passed gambling. I honestly thought NH would beat MA to the punch. Some MA residents may still cross the boarder to buy their cigarettes (not sure why with the price of gas these days) and other needful things but why leave Dodge when you will be able to lay down a dollar in your own back yard.

My updated prediction for 2012, when we all visit or pass through the Weirs this summer we will still get to see that lovely burnt down hotel :eek: I feel bad for the nearby business and home owners who take care of their property and have to look at that every day.