NASHUA: LOCALE HERO RICHARD LANNAN
W
ith the most public art of any city in the state, dozens of artist organizations and acclaimed orchestra Symphony New Hampshire calling Church Street home, Nashua has quietly become a creative hotbed for the Granite State. The only thing they were missing, in the opinion of many, was a performing arts center. That is, until now. Nashua Center for the Arts (NCA), located at 201 Main Street, opened its doors on April 1, thanks in large part to a vibrant coterie of community members who’ve been pushing for nearly six years to turn the once-far-off dream into a reality. Richard Lannan, president and owner of The Lannan Company,
54 New Hampshire Magazine | May 2023
PHOTO BY JARED CHARNEY
Nashua’s Jim Donchess and Richard Lannan at the newly opened Nashua Center for the Arts
has done as much as just about anybody. As president of Nashua Community Arts, a nonprofit formed in 2018 to raise money for NCA, and chair of the steering committee, an organization responsible for vital decision-making concerning the brass-tacks construction of the building, Lannan led the behind-the-scenes charge in getting the NCA off the ground. When the Nashua Board of Aldermen approved a $21 million bond dedicated to the NCA if the community could privately raise $4 million, Lannan spearheaded the cause at Nashua Community Arts, rallying nearly 500 donors, big and small, to contribute to the cause. “The whole performing arts center is like
a big team of heroes working together,” says Judith Carlson, longtime Nashua resident and secretary of Nashua Community Arts, “but Rich is our number one lead hero by far. He’s done more than anybody on this whole project for years, and he’s just incredible.” “Rich Lannan has shown his commitment to Nashua in so many ways,” Nashua Mayor Jim Donchess says. “His tireless efforts on downtown improvement projects will reap economic and quality-of-life benefits for Nashuans and visitors to our city for decades to come.” At The Lannan Company, 67-year-old Lannan works in real estate investment and development, managing apartment complex-
