When the Green building at Remich Park came down, it cleared away a condemned eyesore. It also took Littleton's outdoor skating rink with it. Riverfront Commons is getting the rink because of a project that hasn't started yet. Every construction bid for the parcel off Riverglen Lane came in over budget, so the ground across the Ammonoosuc from downtown is sitting empty this winter. That empty ground has power on site and a water source in the building next door.
Two delays happen to fit together. Littleton Parks & Recreation plans to put the 2026–27 community rink at Riverfront Commons, and the Parks & Recreation Commission backed that plan by consensus at its September 17 meeting. If the Commons had broken ground on schedule, the rink would be looking for a home somewhere else.
What the Green Building Was Holding Up
For most people at Remich Park, the large green building was simply the thing next to the ball fields. Littleton applied in 2024 for a $175,000 InvestNH municipal demolition grant to remove what the Caledonian-Record called "the condemned large green building at Remich Park." The same grant could also cover a partial demolition of the snack shack behind the Little League fields, if money remained, to prepare it for full rehabilitation. The paper also reported that the town's longer-range plan calls for a new main parks and recreation building at Remich.
The rink needed two things from that building. At the commission's August 20 meeting, Parks & Rec staff said the rink's water source "is no longer in a heated structure," so it is now capped. They added that the lights at Remich "were conduit connected in the Green building that was demolished so they no longer operate." Without both, the Remich rink had no way to be flooded and nothing to light it after dark.
The town doesn't plan to rebuild it soon. The minutes of the October 22 joint quarterly meeting of the Select Board, School Board and Budget Committee note that the park warming hut was demolished and "will not be replaced at this time."
The Field Across Town That Almost Got It
Apthorp Common was the first place the town looked. In August, staff floated building the rink on the Ely Street side of the Common, where lights already exist. Getting water there would mean installing a dry hydrant pit, estimated at $10,000 to $15,000. Field rentals would also push rink prep back to late October, and the site has no bathrooms or warming hut.
Commission members pointed out that skaters in nearby towns get by without those comforts. Whitefield and Colebrook run rinks without lights, bathrooms or warming huts, and Mount Eustis has no bathrooms or warming hut either. The water problem remained. When staff asked Littleton Water and Light about flooding from a fire hydrant, the answer was no. The utility said it would need a deduct meter rather than running flow straight to the sewer lines, and the hydrants are winterized anyway.
In August, these were the sites under discussion, and Riverfront Commons wasn't among them yet.
| Option discussed | Water | Lights | Warming or bathrooms |
|---|---|---|---|
| Remich Park, as is | Capped; source no longer in a heated building | Out; conduit ran through the demolished building | Warming hut gone |
| Apthorp Common, Ely Street side | Would need a $10,000–$15,000 dry hydrant pit | Existing lights | None |
| Remich Park with a minimal warming hut | Would use water access in a heated building | Would need a new install by Littleton Water and Light | Minimal hut |
| Riverfront Commons, added in September | Access in the Senior Center building | Electricity on site; floodlight requested | Not specified |
The commission also listed heating and insulating the Apthorp building to make a heated water source. Every option came back to the same question of where to get water from inside a heated building.
Why the Riverfront Lot Is Free
Riverfront Commons is the roughly seven-acre former Murro property on Riverglen Lane, and the town finalized its purchase in 2021. A 2019 Plan NH report describes the parcel this way: the Ammonoosuc runs along its north edge, the Senior Center parcel sits to the east and the railroad right-of-way to the south, with the Riverwalk Covered Bridge just east and the Curran Suspension Bridge to the west. At the time, the site had gravel Riverwalk paths between the two bridges, a gravel parking lot, and a grass area used for the farmers' market, concerts and other events. The Littleton Area Senior Center is at 77 Riverglen Lane.
This was supposed to be the fall the Commons got built. The town's bid package called for site development, a 53-space parking area and landscaping near the Ammonoosuc Riverwalk, with bids due in mid-June. At the Select Board's June 8 meeting, seven contractors had attended the site visit, and the consensus was a fall start with completion in the spring.
The schedule slipped in stages:
- Late July. The town manager reported that grant funding extensions were in progress and that budget reduction talks with a contractor covered a concrete stage area, landscaping, curbing and site fixtures.
- September 28. A funding agency had questioned the choice of the lowest bidder, who had not submitted the required bid security bond. The town was working with legal counsel, and a rebid was possible.
- October 22. All bids had come in over budget, and the funding agencies had to sign off before any award. A legal review was pending on whether the town must reject all bids and rebid. The town manager called that a likely outcome, which would mean a rebid this winter and construction in spring 2027 "rather than this fall."
Parks & Rec was already planning around the delay. At the September 17 commission meeting, staff noted that the Riverfront Commons development "is likely not to happen this fall, so that would be prime location with electricity on-site and water access in the Senior Center building." The lot has the two things Remich lost. It may only have them until spring, when construction is expected to start.
What's Still Being Worked Out on Riverglen Lane
The September plan gives a clear outline, but several pieces are still unsettled:
- Flooding. Parks & Rec has been talking with the Littleton Fire Department about helping start and flood the rink this season. Parks & Rec will maintain it after that.
- Light. The department has asked JA Corey about mounting a floodlight on the side of the Barn to light the rink better. That's the red barn near the Senior Center, which a 2021 Caledonian-Record report said was planned for renovation as the project's welcome center, with restrooms.
- Skate rentals. Logistics were still open in September, and one idea was working with building trades.
- Dates and hours. The town hasn't announced an opening date or skating hours yet. Littleton Parks & Recreation is the place to watch for them once there's ice.
The October 22 record ties the plan to a single season: "The skating rink will be located at Riverfront Commons this winter." The town expects construction there in spring 2027, and no plan for the rink beyond this winter has been announced. Meanwhile, Remich still has no water source in a heated building and no working lights.
The Pool on the Same Park
The Remich Park pool is facing its own uncertainty about next year. The Caledonian-Record reported that Littleton canceled the 2026 pool season because filtration and plumbing problems couldn't be fixed in time to open safely.
On September 17, the commission accepted a Country Pools & Spas proposal to replace the filter and pump. In a 2–1 vote, it authorized up to $176,000 from the pool capital reserve. The pool subcommittee's goal is to open by June 2027, though it said that will happen "only if it's safe and if it makes sense," and more plumbing and concrete work is still ahead. Friends of Remich Park has agreed to accept donations for the pool. The Littleton Pool Project site is where the campaign is collecting updates.
Both repairs are on the same park's list. With the warming hut not being replaced for now, the rink is the item without a long-term plan, so it moves downtown to whatever space is open this winter.
At Pinkham Real Estate, we follow how projects like Riverfront Commons change the way a town actually gets used, season by season. If you want to talk about where things stand downtown in Littleton, or anywhere in the Mount Washington Valley, contact our team.