Keene Development Project Receives Regional Financing

Benson Woodworking under construction in Keene. Photo: Vermont Rural Ventures 

The NH Community Development Finance Authority, Massachusetts Housing Investment Corporation, TD Bank and Vermont Rural Ventures collaborated to provide over $1.1 million in New Markets Tax Credit financing for the expansion of Benson Woodworking (Bensonwood) and its subsidiary Unity Building Technologies (Unity Homes), both pre-fabrication construction companies in Walpole. The tax credits will help fund the construction of a new production facility in Keene serving both companies.

"We are very excited about what the future holds for Unity," says company founder Tedd Benson. "The increased production capacity will require more skilled workers, which means more jobs for the region—at least fifteen. These aren't your typical carpentry jobs; most of the work is done in the controlled conditions of our shop, using sophisticated equipment that enhances safety and productivity. You're more apt to find our 'carpenters' checking a 3D virtual model on a tablet computer than shuffling through a set of paper plans."

Bob Oberlander, CFO of Bensonwood, adds "The resultant facility will enable Bensonwood-Unity to become one of the most technologically advanced panelized building providers in the U.S, bringing better quality—and healthier—structures to New England markets."

Monadnock Economic Development Corporation (MEDC) in Keene led the $8.6 million project for the expansion of Bensonwood's production facility. "The combination of Vermont Rural Ventures and MHIC was smooth and made what was expected to be a complicated closing easy. Vermont Rural Ventures helped us understand in advance how they would partner with Monadnock Economic Development Corporation and Massachusetts Housing Investment Corporation," says Bob Elliott, CFO of MEDC.