Lakes Region Roundtable

Seated, from left: Barrett Salta, project manager for Bonnette Page and Stone Corp.; Justin Slattery, executive director of the Belknap Economic Development Council; Gretchen Gandini, development director at the Taylor Community; and Karmen Gifford, president of the Lakes Region Chamber. Standing from left: Bill Lawrence, owner of Tilton Hardware and former member of the Tilton Planning Board; Patrick Cate, president of Lakes Region Community College; Andrew Hosmer, mayor of Laconia; and Marty Parichand, founder of Mill City Park in Franklin 

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Tourism is the lifeblood of the Lakes Region, where 85% of the land is forested and much of the rest is water—273 lakes to be exact—including the largest in the state, Lake Winnipesaukee. Business and community leaders from the Lakes Region, home to over 30 cities and towns, sat down with Business NH Magazine at the Taylor Community in Laconia for a candid discussion about the region’s challenges and successes. The discussion was part of Business NH Magazine’s roundtable series, which kicked off in the Seacoast in February.

The Lakes Region has a rich history beginning centuries ago with the indigenous people of the Abenaki Tribe Confederacy, who spoke the Sokoki language. The Sokoki word, Wiwininebesaki, from which Winnipesaukee is derived, means “lakes region,” according to the Lakes Region Historical Society. Today, when people think of NH’s Lakes Region—an area spanning Belknap County and portions of Carroll and Grafton Counties—there is no shortage of iconic images that spring to mind.

From the bustle of Motorcycle week enthusiasts at Weirs Beach, to skiing at Gunstock or thanksgiving dinner in July at Harts Turkey Farm, to that memorable fishing scene with Henry Fonda from the film “On Golden Pond” at Squam Lake, the Lakes Region captures the hearts and imaginations, as well as the dollars, of people worldwide.

Visitors to the Lakes Region spent more than $750 million total in 2023, according to Dean Runyan’s Travel Stats. During the 2023 summer season, there were 8,700 jobs related to leisure and hospitality, an increase from 8,100 in 2022.

The Lakes Region economy also depends on leading manufacturing companies like NH Ball Bearings in Laconia, which employs more than 450 people, and the Trudeau Corporation, a kitchenware and houseware manufacturer in Wolfeboro with more than 100 employees. The region also boasts innovative startups, including Rogue Space Systems, a Laconia-based company developing robots that navigate space to service satellites.

The region also has a thriving construction industry that includes Bonnette, Page & Stone Corp., and is home to Lakes Region Community College, which received national recognition for its culinary program in 2023.

In this sprawling and vibrant region, it is no surprise that the issues of workforce and affordable housing—as well as protecting the region’s natural beauty—are persistent concerns. With an eye to the future, leaders are focused on maintaining the current economic momentum of the region and finding solutions to challenges by creating strategic partnerships and promoting civic engagement.

Workforce Housing Woes
Ask Lakes Region business leaders about their biggest concern, and affordable housing often comes first. While second homes on the lakes easily cost seven figures or more, year round residents struggle to find affordable homes to rent or buy.

Laconia Mayor Andrew Hosmer kicked the discussion off by referring to the post-COVID land rush that took place in the Lakes Region as a double-edged sword. “Real estate is probably a person’s greatest asset and people have seen their real estate values increase considerably,” he says. “The flip side to that is, so does their taxes.”

Hosmer, also general manager of AutoServ, his family’s automotive business, points to the “missing middle,” meaning affordable duplexes, triplexes, and fourplexes. This lack of housing makes it hard for many people to live and work in the region, he says, adding that when he became mayor in 2020 investment in home building was around $15 million each year but has shot up to as much as $50 million following the pandemic. 

Home prices in Belknap County rose by 79% between 2018 and 2023 and the annual average inventory of single-family homes shrank from 5,348 in 2018 to 1,308 in May 2024, according to the NH Fiscal Policy Institute (NHFPI). The vacancy rate for apartments statewide in 2023 was 0.6%—well below the 5% that housing experts consider healthy. According to Zillow, the median rent for all bedrooms and all property types in Laconia was $2,000 in late June.

“What we saw following the pandemic were so many million-dollar places on the water being built,” Hosmer says. “I think about a first-year teacher, could they have a place to rent that matches with about 30% of her or his gross salary? How about a firefighter or police officer? Can we match up places for them? We don’t have enough [affordable homes].”

Karmen Gifford, president of the Lakes Region Chamber, says the dearth of affordable housing, and housing of all kinds, negatively affects the hospitality industry. “For a person with a short-term rental in Meredith working at Harts … When that rental becomes a summer Airbnb and they are asked to leave, where are they going to go?” she asks.

Hosmer says short-term rentals, while not creating a high impact on city services, reduce overall housing inventory.  “Short term rentals have been a benefit in some respects with the development and the increased tax base,” he says. “The downside is that we don’t have enough affordable units here for the people that are full-time residents.”

Patrick Cate, president at Lakes Region Community College (LRCC), says most students are local, but employees come from as far away as North Carolina. Cate says the housing problem shifts from an economic issue to a real housing insecurity issue very quickly even for those who wouldn’t necessarily be considered housing insecure.

“We’re looking at pulling in new employees and it’s always a question about housing,” he says. “We currently have someone who is a retired police officer looking for housing who has a part time job with us. It’s not that he can’t afford housing; it’s that there isn’t any.”

LRCC leases two floors of an apartment building in Alpine Ridge at Mt. Rowe and had more spaces in the past. The college cut back five years ago because it wasn’t cost effective, Cate explains. “We weren’t using it, but in the last three years we’ve had a waitlist for people who want to come and there is no place to live for those students,” he says. “The amount of change that happened, from my perspective, is quite dramatic. We’re almost full now for next year and FAFSA isn’t even out yet.”

Marty Parichand, founder of Mill City Park in Franklin, New England’s first whitewater park, says the city was known as a last resort in the region for affordable housing. Following the pandemic, when home prices skyrocketed statewide, this no longer holds true, says Parichand, owner of Outdoor New England, a shop that sells whitewater kayaking gear, and partner of the real estate firm Buell Block Properties.

“All of a sudden, our $150,000 homes or $250,000 homes are $350,000 or $400,000. They’re all beautiful Victorians, but 40 years of decay and deterioration kind of took us out of the running in the Lakes Region as a place to live and work,” he says. “In 2015, any given week, there were 150 homes on the market in Franklin. Fast forward to today and the average is four. It’s getting a little bit harder, and there was a reassessment in our community at the same time, which, to Andrew [Hosmer’s] point, does hurt our taxpayers.”

Despite housing challenges, Franklin is seeing business growth, Parichand says. “People who are buying buildings or starting businesses actually live in Franklin, which is good,” he says. “In turn, when they upkeep their properties, they’re more involved in the daily ongoings. And they’re also paying a better wage. You can go to Vulgar Brewery and work for $22 an hour making pizzas.”

Barrett Salta, project manager for Bonnette Page and Stone Corp., a developer in Laconia that works on both affordable and high-end homes, says supply chain and workforce challenges can slow projects. A local affordable housing project “sat dark” for six months because “we couldn’t get transformers for it,” he says. “So, some of these affordable housing projects that are in the waiting or getting developed now take years of planning and then construction time, which has only been elongated due to lack of workforce and materials.”

As someone who “cut his teeth in the restaurant business,” Salta says it is a tough market for new homebuyers in the Lakes Region. “I know I bought my house four years ago and it’s gone up,” he says. “It’s tough for anybody who’s just starting out.”

To solve the workforce housing problem, some Lakes Region employers have purchased property and become landlords. But this can present challenges, Gifford says. “As many [employers] will say, ‘we’re not in business to be landlords,’” she says, explaining that when a business owner becomes a landlord it creates tension. “[When] you let an employee go, they’re still your tenant,” she says.

On a positive note, Gifford says some people with extra space are housing nurses and others with traveling jobs. “There’s this underground housing going on,” she says. “There are people that are still living in homes [where] they don’t need all the space [and] are renting out rooms for [months at a time].”

Gretchen Gandini, development director at the Taylor Community, says partnering with community developers to create workforce housing has become a priority. “To Carmen [Gifford’s] point, we haven’t been pursuing being our own landlords, but we are asking who does that well and how we can support those efforts because our workforce is traveling a bit to get to work,” she says.

Bill Lawrence, owner of Tilton Hardware, and former member of the Tilton Planning Board, says creating housing that supports the workforce, especially in a region that depends heavily on tourism, is crucial. “Of course, transportation would also be helpful,” he adds.

Economic Development Opportunities and Challenges
One sign of hope around the affordable housing crisis in recent years is the InvestNH fund, which has made $100 million available to accelerate the approval and construction of affordable workforce housing in New Hampshire. The program is funded through the State’s allocation of American Rescue Plan Act State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds and can be used for small and large projects and municipalities across the state.

Justin Slattery, executive director of the Belknap Economic Development Council, one of nine regional development corporations, says housing challenges also bring opportunities. Coming out of the pandemic, he says, many businesses are seeking technical assistance with modernizing their e-commerce systems, and their accounting systems.

“Our communities are rallying with developers to address how we strategically use those investment dollars. The Belknap Development Council hosts the NH Small Business Development Center and we’re hearing from businesses daily that are wanting to connect with the counselors to talk through their plans and their strategy,” he says.  “People are asking ‘how can we right size or balance our communities with the demands to support our businesses and have those housing options. There’s some great development going on.”

The basis of the Whitewater Park in Frankin, Parichand says, was to create a brand for the city that would encourage further investment. “Franklin had a degraded brand,” he says. “Certain institutions that had Franklin in their name in 2015 were trying to rebrand themselves and get the word Franklin out of their name.”

The whitewater project, completed in June, cost $5 million and Parichand says it has already spurred more investment in housing and small business. “Todd Workman bought seven buildings in downtown Franklin for less than $1 million and now, collectively, they’re worth more than $8 million,” he says. “Creating a free amenity that anyone can enjoy—whether you’re getting in the water or not—this investment in ourselves has spurred more investment.”

Cate says the community college is tailoring some of its courses to meet workforce needs. “If somebody wants to upskill any specific area rather than do a two-year degree, it allows that employee to stay here,” he says. “And our students who finished their associates degree not only learn a trade … they’re also learning how to interact in a workplace.”

Hosmer cites the Colonial Theatre project in downtown Laconia as a positive development involving public and private funds. The theater, which had been closed since 2002 after more than 80 years in operation, underwent a massive restoration project between 2016 and 2021, reopening as a 761-seat venue that hosts a variety of performances. “We have started to be defined by our accomplishments and our opportunities and not by the obstacles we once faced,” he says. “In my mind it started with the Colonial Theater which started before me and the previous mayor Ed Engler. Ideally it all would have been done with private money, but private money held onto that building for years and all it did was collapse in on itself. It took vision and forethought and a commitment to public and private funds.”

The Limits of Growth
Lawrence, who was born and raised in the Lakes Region, says he worries about overpopulation and development. He cites the 34-acre luxury hotel, spa and event center with 3,300 feet of lake frontage under construction at the old Anchorage Motel, as an example of a boon that could also increase congestion on the lakes and roads. Solving these types of problems will mean working together, he says. “We have to do it together,” says Lawrence. “We have to learn as communities how to communicate.”

Salta is concerned about how the region keeps momentum as the economy changes. “Every boom in history also has its fall. How do we balance that with keeping momentum going and keeping the community thriving when the opportunities start to evaporate?”

Growth in the Lakes Region is also challenged by climate change. Parichand says there has been some discussion around climate change in relation to skiing and snowmobiling in Franklin. “We have a small ski area in town that averages about 16 weekend days of having snow. I think last year they had maybe eight days,” he says. “For an entire industry that comes here for our four seasons, [climate change] is a huge issue moving forward.”

Salta says a lot of building practices and general construction methods have incorporated sustainable practices in recent years. “Net zero buildings are popping up,” he says. “We did one of the first projects at Idlehurst Elementary School in Somersworth.”

Cate says with the demand for green technology, curriculums at LRCC addressing climate change are already in place.  “We’re piloting a Toyota hybrid repair course, and we have an electric car that can be taken down and put all back together for teaching,” he says. “[This focus] is really coming out in our curriculum.”

A Local Focus
From a community development perspective, Parichand says the rhetoric around national political conversations can be a distraction from what’s happening locally. “What Biden and Trump are doing is not really all that important on Central Street,” he says. “But the political scene, mixed with the worry of COVID and the pressures families are facing … we really see a divide in people forming relationships.”

In smaller communities like Franklin, which has a population of 8,000, Parichand says it is important to have civil discourse, especially in an age “where everyone’s connected, but no one’s talking about anything. I think it’s important for us to have transparent conversations like we’re doing here.”

Gifford says she has noticed more collaboration and community engagement to address issues like workforce and housing. “Working together and communicating … having those serious discussions and not being behind a Facebook page and just throwing out what the problem is,
that’s important.”

Localism, Parichand adds, “is the anecdote to some of the toxicity that exists among us.”

“As Justin talked about, Invest NH was incredible for us in Franklin,” he says. “It’s local players, people on the ground level, that make positive change. It really is the people.”

Slattery says solving community problems happens on a local level “challenge by challenge.”

Gandini says she always comes back to the storytelling problem. “Often, we don’t share [the successes] enough” she says. “We need to talk about the good stuff that’s working well and maybe help another business or organization benefit from that.”

Looking to the Future
Ensuring a strong future workforce pipeline is a priority in the region. Gandini says Taylor Community, a retirement community that is also a major employer, partners with the Huot Technical Center, a career center serving Lakes Region high school students. “We need folks trained to take care of [people]. We partner with the Huot Technical Center on everything,” she says.

At LRCC, Cate says it is critical to leverage resources, such as expensive equipment, within the community college system to better serve communities. “What BAE Systems needs in Nashua is really different than what our contract manufacturers up here need,” he says. “But some of the basic skills sets are the same.”

Cate says over 90% of the community college’s students stay in NH and that the college is helping meet workforce needs as many boomers are on the verge of retirement. “More New Hampshire nurses were produced by the community college system than anybody else and I think that’s the advantage of the Community College system,” he says. “We have to leverage the best to be able to help solve some of these problems.”

Parichand says he worries about maintaining the positive momentum in Franklin. “Franklin has had this history of making some progress and then losing it overtime,” he says.

Hosmer says he agrees with Parichand. “We can look at decades when communities like Laconia, much like Franklin, were stagnant,” he says. “It took so much effort to move forward and you know sometimes it takes a couple of crazy people to have crazy ideas to get the ball rolling. We know what it’s like when it stops and nothing good happens.”