Construction of the eagerly awaited Mill City Park at Franklin Falls — what would be the first whitewater park in New England — will start in July.

The first phase of construction will be a timber-frame pavilion, parking lots and two sets of standing waves in the riverbed. In 2022, construction is scheduled to begin on refurbishment of Trestle Bridge — an old railroad bridge — into a footbridge to connect the Winnipesaukee River Trail to Mill City Park and the downtown area.

Eventually, the park will feature sites for camping, climbing walls, trails for walking and bicycling, an amphitheater and historic features around remnants of three mills that once stood there.

Mill City Park has been welcomed by city officials and the Franklin business community as a driver of economic development, with the potential to attract over 161,000 visitors annually. — JEFF FEINGOLD