The natural beauty and quality of life of the Monadnock Region of southwest NH makes it not only a desirable relocation area for people and businesses, but also makes it a great retirement community as well.

Keene, a city of 23,000 in the Ashuelot River Valley, is the employment, commercial and population center of the region.

Peterborough, with 5,900 people, is nationally known as a cultural center with its MacDowell Colony, Peterborough Players and Apple Hill Center for Chamber Music. Other towns in the region include Dublin, Jaffrey, Rindge, Fitzwilliam, Marlborough, and Troy.

The region has a reputation for high-quality schools, including Franklin Pierce College in Rindge, and Keene State College and Antioch New England Graduate School in Keene.

The business climate is stable, seemingly insulated from highs and lows by its diversity, and is dominated by light manufacturing, business and service industries.

Few firms employ more than 40 or 50 people. Many area businesses are technology leaders, including ActivMedia Robotics in Peterborough, and Markem Corp., Portex Inc., Timken and Precitech in Keene.

The region is facing some challenging problems, including transportation issues. With a highly mobile population, and most residents working and shopping outside their hometowns, traffic volume has greatly increased on the east-west Route 101 and the north-south Route 202.

Add to that a lack of affordable housing and difficulties recruiting enough workers.

And, with a strong regional ethic for environmental preservation and conservation of community character, striking the right balance between growth and preservation is a constant challenge.

WHAT'S HOT

Keene Downtown Sports/Office Complex
The Monadnock Economic Development Corporation (MEDC) recently withdrew a proposal to develop 10 acres of abandoned railroad property owned by the city in downtown Keene. MEDC is pursuing other projects, following controversy surrounding the proposed sports/office complex.

MEDC's original proposal included a new YMCA with an indoor athletic field; an indoor skating rink; a 40,000-square-foot office/retail complex; a 2,000-seat stadium; and the renovation of a former factory building that would have included a business incubator. Kennedy Information Inc. of Fitzwilliam had agreed to move their headquarters to the new building.

In a heated public hearing on the project in January, many Keene citizens expressed concern about the ballpark's impact on noise, traffic and parking downtown. MEDC then revised its proposal to eliminate the stadium, the athletic field and the business incubator building.

At press time, negotiations were underway between MEDC and the city of Keene when MEDC abruptly withdrew its proposal in February.

Jack Dugan, executive director of MEDC, says the complex would have brought increased revenue to downtown businesses and increased property-tax revenue for the city.

Keene Bypass Expansion
The expansion of Keene's bypass system has been under discussion for at least 10 years and may reach closure this year. Four major highways – Routes 9, 10, 12 and 101 – converge in Keene and that puts great pressure on the city's current bypass system. City streets and those connecting highways are already overburdened and inadequate to serve existing traffic, says Jeffrey Porter, a senior planner for the Southwest Region Planning Commission.

The original proposal from the State Department of Transportation includes major expansion of five Keene intersections, all of which intersect with at least one of the four state highways. All four highways meet at one intersection. The State Department of Transportation (DOT) proposals range from an increase in the number of lanes at one intersection to overpasses to more complex systems called "diamond interchanges" and "trumpet interchanges."

Area citizens have mounted an extensive campaign against the project, raising concerns about the impact on the character of the city and its quality of life. They have proposed roundabouts at all the intersections. The project was originally slated to start in 2000 and would take approximately 10 years to complete, says Keith Cota, who is spearheading the project for the DOT. It will cost in excess of $60 million.

ActivMedia Robotics
The Peterborough company designs, integrates and manufactures intelligent mobile robots and their navigation, control, sensing, and response systems. It collaborates with leading researchers on control software.

ActivMedia's robots are winners of the World RoboCup Soccer Championship and American Association for Artificial Intelligence contests.

Jeanne Dietsch, CEO, leads the company of 18 NH employees, which started in 1995. This was her third start-up company. The first, Talmis Market Research in Chicago, was eventually sold to a New York company. ActivMedia Research, her second, does online market research on Internet commerce. "It got hit by the dot-com bash," she says, "and is in the process of closing down." Dietsch says she expects ActivMedia Robotics to do three times as much business this year as last and has more quotes than she can handle.

TRIUMPHS

Blackbrook Corporate Park
The City of Keene hadn't seen new manufacturing or office buildings in many years when MEDC proposed Blackbrook Corporate Park in 1995, says Dugan. Today, eight companies, including three new to the Monadnock region, inhabit 300 acres of land on the outskirts of Keene. The development allowed several already existing businesses, such as Portex Inc. and Federal Express, to build new facilities and expand their workforce. It also attracted companies such as Imtec, which manufactures bar code equipment, and Igenics, a manufacturer of cosmetics and health and beauty products.

If the City of Keene and MEDC are successful, the corporate headquarters of CNS Wholesalers will take the last lot available at Blackbrook, says Dugan. The company, now located in Brattleboro, Vt., is considering moving its headquarters, with up to 700 employees, to the park. Its distribution facilities would remain in Brattleboro.

Monadnock Connect
High-speed broadband access to the Internet became a reality for Monadnock area businesses and organizations on Dec. 4, 2001, when Monadnock Connect was "turned on." For the first time, businesses could transmit a full array of electronic communications – voice, data and video – through one digital connection at a high rate of speed at an affordable price. Monadnock Connect, headed by George Scott, was formed to make such access available and affordable in the region.

Previously, businesses and organizations in the area had to pay broadband access prices sometimes three times as high as their counterparts in the southeast corner of NH.

By forming an aggregation of businesses and organizations, Monadnock Connect was able to attract two broadband providers – Equal Access Networks and Global Crossing Ltd. – to jointly offer services. Monadnock Connect started with two major organizations and now serves 30.

The only fly in the ointment seems to be the financial troubles of Global Crossing, which has filed for bankruptcy. "As a practical reality, it is having little impact on our customers. Service will continue. My concern is that it may cause people to think twice before signing up with us," says Scott.

Keene's Downtown
E.F. Lane Hotel, which opened in 2001, is the latest in a series of developments on Main Street in Keene that have transformed the city into a vibrant center for commerce and entertainment. "In 1995, three major downtown businesses had closed – Sears, Woolworths and Goodnows," says Dugan. "The Colonial Theatre was in disrepair and, at best, showing films. There was lots of plywood over store windows on Main Street and lots of vacancies."

The 40-room E.F. Lane Hotel is housed in the former Goodnow's Department Store. The renovated hotel includes luxury rooms, as well banquet and meeting rooms. Woolworths and Sears were renovated and now house various businesses and offices. The Colonial Theatre was completely renovated and hosts thousand of people each year at concerts, theatre performances and films.

Downtown Peterborough
Peterborough also has seen a revitalization of its downtown, Depot Square now includes the Toadstool Bookstore, Sharon Arts Center, several restaurants and other businesses near a park on the banks of the Contoocook River.

"Our downtown was really losing its center," says Peter Ryner, the town's director of community development. "Much of the revitalization took place within the context of trying to keep the historic architectural style and scale of what's been there. We don't want to look like every other community."

CHALLENGES

Transportation
Transportation, specifically the flow of traffic into, out of, and through towns and cities, is clearly the biggest issue in the Monadnock Region, says Porter.

There is some frustration that the Keene bypass expansion has taken so long to resolve. The solution to these traffic problems would have a region-wide impact, adds Porter.

"A solution is overdue," says John MacLean, Keene's city manager.

Transportation is also a big issue in Peterborough, which is in the midst of a traffic study. "How to accommodate the regional traffic flow is one of our top planning issues," says Ryner. "We are bisected by several state roads that are increasingly being used by bedroom communities. The volume of traffic on 101 and 202 and 136 is on the edge of starting to reshape and transform the community.

Housing
Lack of housing for people at all income levels is a serious concern in the Monadnock Region, especially Keene. Businesses sometimes have trouble recruiting employees because of the difficulty in finding housing.

"Clearly, there's a housing shortage in Keene," says MacLean. "We've been very successful in creating jobs and Keene State College is thriving. But rental units are in short supply and costly, and even the most expensive housing is limited."

"A healthy economy has a 5 to 6 percent vacancy rate," says Margaret Dillon, executive director of the Cheshire Housing Trust in Keene. "Keene is going on its second or third year with a vacancy rate of less than 1 percent."

It's not only affecting people with low incomes, either. "I get calls from people who make $35,000 or $40,000 a year," she says. "They can't afford the existing rates to rent or buy or, even if they can afford it, they can't find anything."

Chris Masiello, who heads the Masiello Group, who offers realty, insurance, mortgage, and travel services, says the situation may be starting to correct itself. "With the market slowing down, more property is coming on the market," he says. "That may lead to lower prices. On balance, the market cooling off is not all bad. It may lead to an extended, healthier market."

Labor shortage
Many area business owners are finding it hard to hire the people they need. Jeff Spielman, president of Portex Inc. in Keene, says the availability of labor at all levels is the biggest challenge facing the Monadnock Region. Despite the recession, regional unemployment in December remained at 2.3 percent in the Keene labor market and 2.6 percent in the Peterborough market. The state unemployment rate is 3.7 percent.

"This area is incredibly stable in terms of employment," says Marty Capodice, a research analyst with the economic and labor market information bureau of NH Employment Security. "There's been virtually no change in employment since 1996."

Gene Webber, an associate with Clough, Harbour & Associates, an engineering and design firm in Keene, says that demand for their services is high but they are having problems bringing in young engineers. "There is significant commercial development going on in Keene, he says, "but it is a challenge to find qualified people, especially engineers."

INITIATIVES

Keene State College
Keene State College is in the midst of two major construction projects that will provide more housing and recreational opportunities for its students. Both projects should be completed by fall of 2002.

An $11 million recreation center is being added to Spaulding Gymnasium; it will house three basketball courts, two aerobics rooms, an expanded fitness center, and a 1/10-mile running track.

"This is the first major addition of indoor recreation space since the gymnasium was built in 1968," says Dr. Stanley Yarosewick, president of the college. "Since then, Keene State's enrollment has increased from 1,650 to nearly 5,000 students."

The college is also building five three-story apartment buildings that will house 120 students. "Housing in Keene is tight," Yarosewick says. "This fall, we housed 100 more students than our capacity. And we're hoping the apartments will attract upper-class students, who tend to disengage or lose touch once they move off campus."

Medical Building Project
A $15 million building and renovation project at Cheshire Medical Center and Dartmouth-Hitchcock Keene began in 2001 and is expected to be completed in 2004. A new three-story, 58,000-square-foot building will connect the two buildings that house the hospital and clinic. In addition, the clinic will be totally renovated. Physical rehabilitation services will see a major expansion including two new aquatic pools, while women's health services will be centralized and the dining facilities doubled in size.

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