Regional Roundtable: Greater Nashua

Editor's Note: This is the third in a series of roundtables Business NH Magazine will hold in 2008 and 2009 with business and government leaders to examine the challenges facing various regions of the state. The next roundtable, focusing on the Seacoast, will appear online in October.

Visit downtown Nashua on any given day, and you'll find it teeming with activity. That's due, in part, to the region being home to many of the state's largest employers, including BAE Systems, Dell, Elbit Systems of America (Kollsman), Fidelity and PC Connection.

That is in stark contrast to the late '80s and early '90s when the recession hit Nashua hard, closing businesses and banks, and leaving its downtown desolate. Among the main drivers in its resuscitation was Destination Downtown and later Great American Downtown, an organization formed in 2002 with the support of the Greater Nashua Chamber of Commerce, Destination Downtown and the city to focus on downtown revitalization. It was formed after Nashua was not accepted into the national Main Street program, a program supporting downtown revitalization.

As the region's leaders look to the future, their eyes are on creatively and collaboratively increasing the region's economic vitality. Current projects include a push for passenger rail service, and the development of a new high-tech center to house both companies and education facilities. Business NH Magazine spoke with a group of area leaders in June to discuss the economic challenges facing the region and what is being done to address them.

Downtown Renaissance
In recent years, Nashua's downtown experienced a rebirth. Upscale restaurants, shops and banks line Main Street, which is now a destination rather than a throughway.

The heart of a community is the downtown, says Mayor Donnalee Lozeau, who took office in January as the city's first female mayor. She helped Nashua apply for the Main Street program.

She says Great American Downtown has been successful. It organized the Downtown Dollars gift certificate program and events like the Taste of Downtown Nashua; developed promotional materials for downtown; established a weekly sidewalk litter removal program; and initiated a tree lighting campaign.

Among the new businesses that have been attracted to Main Street is The Nashua Bank, started by President G. Frank Teas. Teas remembers the economic turmoil of the early '90s. Then 22, he watched people cry as one of the local banks was shut down. It had a significant impact on the community, Teas says. It brought out a lot of entrepreneurism. People need to take what they have in front of them and make something out of it.

After spending years in banking in Nashua, Teas raised money to open the bank in October 2007. We've been very well received. Banking is not just transactional, it's relationship based, Teas says of his bank, which has 10 employees. It's really about community. We're here making local decisions.

Regional leaders praised the work of Great American Downtown in creating excitement about downtown. Scott Cote, associate vice president for facilities and emergency preparedness at Southern NH Medical Center and past president and current treasurer of Great American Downtown, says, We're now talking about the next step and looking at a business improvement district. One recent advancement was the launch of wireless Internet access in downtown in July, a project spearheaded by the Greater Nashua Chamber of Commerce.

Great American Downtown also recently received a grant to continue its Riverwalk project, a pedestrian way along the Nashua River that runs through the heart of the city. There's a lot of excitement about downtown, says Chris Williams, president and CEO of the Greater Nashua Chamber of Commerce. He says developers are interested in building housing along the river.

And the area is attracting national companies. One of the region's newest additions is Dell, which recently acquired high-tech wunderkind EqualLogic in Nashua. We're six months into our integration. Not only are people gravitating to downtown, they're staying and eating locally and employees are considering moving here. People have fallen in love with the area, says Tim Yeaton, vice president of Dell's NH Design Center.

And Lozeau says discussion of downtown revitalization is not limited to Main Street. Downtown is not Main Street. That's an education that is still taking place. We need to invest in residential areas around Main Street, she says. Nashua's mill district is a vital link in Nashua's commercial and residential resources, and its continued development will be important to the city's economic success, she says.

One proposal to boost the millyard is the Broad Street Parkway project, which has been the subject of debate for decades. The project would connect Exit 6 off the Everett Turnpike to Nashua's millyard, including a bridge across the Nashua River.

It would also boost safety, says Cote of Southern NH Medical Center. He says downtown now has only one major river crossing-the Main Street Bridge. If there were a catastrophic issue involving that bridge, it would delay emergency response to the downtown area, Cote says.

The Broad Street Parkway project would cost between $30 million and $40 million to complete, but Donald Zizzi, economic development director for the City of Nashua, says the city must do it. How can we ask the private sector to invest in Nashua if the city doesn't? Zizzi asks.

Another project roundtable participants pointed to as essential for the city's continued economic prosperity is introducing passenger rail service. Mayor Lozeau says the best approach is to connect Nashua to the Manchester-Boston Regional Airport, an idea the chamber is actively endorsing.

Commuter rail is an essential issue. It goes back to quality of life and attracting new workers to the area, Williams says. It will relieve congestion and allow people to hop on a train to go to Boston or the Manchester-Boston Regional Airport. It will be huge for us. We're encouraged by the progress we've seen. The mayor has appointed a Transportation Task Force to investigate the city's transportation needs, study their fiscal implications and recommend action on the most pressing transportation needs.

The city is also engaged in an infrastructure battle over Pennichuck Corporation, the water company serving the greater region. When Pennichuck Corporation attempted to merge with Philadelphia Suburban, the nation's second largest water company, the city's previous administration moved to block the sale out of concern the city's water would be controlled by an out-of-state entity. In 2003, Nashua voters supported a proposal for the city to pursue public ownership of Pennichuck, resulting in Philadelphia Suburban withdrawing its offer. The city's effort to acquire the water company is before the state's Public Utilities Commission, which has yet to issue a decision. Lozeau says a takeover is not the only option Nashua has to protect its water, but until the PUC rules, there is no further action planned at this time.

High Hopes for Tech Park
One project many around the table are keeping a close eye on is a proposed tech park off Exit 1 on the site of the former Hewlett Packard building. In November, a group of technology, education and government leaders gathered for a summit to discuss the feasibility of establishing a technology park to house incubator space, established technology companies and satellite locations for colleges and universities.

The proposal, which Williams says is now conceptual, has generated excitement in Nashua. The building and 200 adjacent acres are owned by the Flatley Company in Braintree, Mass., which is working with the chamber and the city to develop the concept.

Williams says key partners are already involved in the discussions, including Daniel Webster College, BAE Systems and Elbit Systems of America. Dr. Robert Skip Myers, president of Daniel Webster College in Nashua, says the project is important because, while NH is able to attract small start-ups, those firms tend to leave once they mature.

BAE Systems in Nashua, which has facilities in Nashua and Merrimack, does not know exactly what role it would play, but there is a possibility it could be an anchor tenant, moving some of its research and development business to the park. We have to think big and be ambitious, says Donald Donovan, president of electronic warfare for BAE Systems, of economic efforts in Greater Nashua. Dell too has been in discussions with the Flatley Company about opportunities in the proposed tech center, Yeaton says. He says it would offer tech workers more choices and employment opportunities, and make recruiting easier.

One challenge high-tech companies in the region encounter is sufficient bandwidth. Yeaton says bandwidth was one of the biggest issues Dell faced when it came to investing in its Nashua center. Bill Rogers, CEO of Ektron, a Web content management software company in Nashua, says Ektron had similar challenges. Bandwidth was spotty, Rogers says. It's improving, but it delayed our entry [into a facility] by two months. Southern NH Medical Center also cites bandwidth issues as it establishes satellite operations requiring critical information to be sent electronically.

Workforce Efforts
While high tech, health care and retail drive Nashua's economy, the city and region are in a talent war with the neighboring Bay State. When we try to recruit people, it used to be a sales pitch that we were only 45 to 90 minutes away from beaches, Boston or skiing, Donovan says. Inevitably [candidates] would ask about what was five minutes away. It was a hard sell. That is changing. The caliber of people coming to our organization has paralleled improvements in the city, Donovan says. People are now invested in the city.

Rogers of Ektron says one key to attracting and retaining younger workers is showing them the sheer number of high tech companies in Greater Nashua, which translates into career opportunities. It's helping them to see they have growth opportunities not only at our company, but at others, he says.

As one of the state's largest employers, Fidelity Investments has been a leader in addressing workforce development issues in NH and is a key player in several projects to address the issue. And for good reason.

Fidelity has about 5,500 employees at its Merrimack campus.
Joe Murray, director of public affairs for Fidelity, says it's important that businesses effectively communicate the region'sadvantages to potential recruits.

Tapping into new pools of talent is work that is always going on. We look at ways to connect with young professional groups across the state and connect our workers with those groups, Murray says.

He compliments Williams for doing a great job with establishing IUGO, Nashua's young professionals group.
IUGO, a Latin term meaning to connect, helps young professionals in Greater Nashua network with each other, employers and the community. Established through the Greater Nashua Chamber of Commerce, IUGO boasts more than 800 members since being established about a year ago. Williams says area companies have been supportive of the group, recognizing it as a tool to recruit and retain younger workers.

Williams says younger workers want a high quality of life and employers need to answer questions including: Where can I shop and dine? Are there volunteer opportunities?

Yeaton says Dell is seeking to increase its community involvement in ways EqualLogic could not due to its scale.
Murray says while Fidelity has a strong volunteer program, it can't keep up with employee demand. There's untapped resources of skill that can be given to the nonprofit community, Murray says. And young professionals are not the only demographic requiring attention. Nashua's population continues to grow, increasing from 79,662 in 1990 to 87,157 in 2006. As that happens, Nashua is becoming more diverse. The city's immigrant and refugee population has been growing, providing both opportunities and challenges for employers.

Rogers says 40 percent of his technology workforce are people from India with Master's degrees. We have international offices, so we do recruit outside the U.S., he says.

Mary Jordan, executive director of the Adult Learning Center in Nashua, points out that Nashua's immigrant population increased 20.9 percent between 2000 and 2006.

There are 1,000 Russians and Ukrainians registered to work in the area, and Brazilians make up another large portion of Nashua's immigrant population. They want to be more ingrained and integrated into the community, Jordan says.

Language often impedes
employment for immigrants, making English as a Second Language courses essential for the region. Jordan says people who came to the country with fewer skills or without knowing English were the first to lose their jobs when the economy slumped. Unemployment in Nashua is low, but among immigrants it's higher, Jordan says, adding that the poverty rate for immigrants is 12 percent. Nashua's overall unemployment rate is 4 percent.

Zizzi says while there is a bright picture of the future being painted, not everyone has access to it. Our growth is largely from immigration. It enriches our community, but it also creates challenges, he says.

Southern NH Medical Center, a major employer with more than 2,200 employees, faces staffing issues as the average age of the population increases, health demands rise and long-time employees ponder retirement.

The hospital has seen the opportunities and challenges of the area's diversity first hand. Cote says it has attracted tremendous qualified health care providers to Nashua. As for the challenges, he says, We're finding we have to do much more to provide translation services and we're seeing a significant increase in uncompensated and charity care.
He adds that uncompensated care in 2007 was almost $15 million because families in general, not just immigrants, have been affected by the economic downturn. Cote says both of Nashua's nonprofit hospitals have seen an uptick in uncompensated and charitable care and are working to address the issue. The increase on average has been seven to 10 percent annually, Cote says.

Education
Roundtable participants agreed investing in education at all levels is essential to future workforce development. Lozeau says Greater Nashua has six colleges, and the community recognizes the need to support education across the continuum. Myers of Daniel Webster College says communities and businesses need to focus not only on higher education for their future workforce, but on the whole education continuum, pre-K through life.

It's a joke at some colleges that they have a workforce development event every June: It's called graduation, Myers says, adding that higher education needs to be able to address current workforce issues as well as anticipate future needs. We have people in mid-career that need retooling, he says.

The city has also been focused on its younger generation. Nashua has reduced its drop out rate, from 21 percent in 2001 to 11 percent in 2007, according to Jordan. We can always do better, Lozeau says.

However, addressing education takes resources, at all levels, both public and private. We need to get our brains wrapped around the notion that if you think education is expensive, try ignorance. We can either see them [students] go up the [workforce] ladder or as they go down the ladder, Myers says.

Daniel Webster College has an emerging STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) institution, which provides a broad range of degree programs aimed at addressing economic development needs in southern NH. Programs include engineering, computer science, homeland security, and a new MBA for Technology and Innovation Management.
The college also works with businesses to create programs to meet specific workforce needs, including BAE Systems, Elbit Systems of America (formerly Kollsman) and Fidelity Investments.

We're a private college with a public conscience. We want our students to be involved in issues in the community and help them make a difference, Myers says.

At BAE, there is a mentoring program sending employees into local schools and colleges. It also has a technology program that matches girls with women technologists to show them the opportunities in the high-tech field. That's the kind of vibrant environment we need, Donovan says. Agility and innovation is the order of the day for us.

Connecting with Government
In the past, there was a lot of infighting among city leaders, Williams says, he now sees city government working more smoothly, leading to a brand new sense of optimism in the City of Nashua.

Still, Lozeau says, more is needed. She says there is a disconnect between government and business that must be bridged. The city needs to provide infrastructure to fertilize the ground for great things that could happen here. The city has to be part of the equation, she says. Zizzi adds that should include expediting the permitting process for projects.
Donovan agrees there is now alignment and more rapport among key city stakeholders. I would ask that we play to our strengths. We ought to think big and be bold, he says.

Lozeau says it is key that businesses and local government officials continue to work together to ensure a healthy economic future. The things we have in common keep the community strong and growing, Lozeau says. It allows us to be innovative and bold. You will see policymakers willing to go out on a limb. Don't disconnect government from business, she says.

-Business NH Magazine