Arthur Sullivan
New Hampshire’s business community knows supporting passenger rail is not just the right decision for the Granite State—it is a no-brainer.
As the owner of Manchester-based Brady Sullivan Properties, one of the largest and most successful real estate development companies in NH, I am extremely interested in passenger rail expansion. The NH Capital Corridor Rail Expansion Project presents an incredible opportunity for developers in the state’s busiest corridor. Across the country and the world, developers seek out train stations as prime opportunities for mixed-use developments. Train stations are major hubs of activity and I would certainly expect that trend to follow once passenger rail is expanded in NH.
Michael Skelton
“The GMCC represents more than 850 businesses across Southern New Hampshire that employ tens of thousands of our state’s residents and generate millions in economic activity. The Nashua-Manchester corridor also serves as the economic backbone of our entire state; as goes the economic output of our region, so goes the rest of New Hampshire. Therefore, economic growth along the corridor is important to the overall growth of our entire state’s economy. In order to have a sound public policy debate on this issue in the future, we must have all the facts. Completing the Project Development phase will allow for policymakers to have an informed debate on this issue and truly assess whether the benefits outweigh the costs.”
Mary Carter
As the Head of School for The Derryfield School, which was founded in 1964 and has a student body of 388 and more than 50 faculty members, I am concerned about rail because the connection between southern NH and Boston is a key factor for many of our prospective students and their families, along with prospective faculty members. Currently, NH’s transportation infrastructure is limited. To properly compete for young, talented minds, NH absolutely needs a multi-modal transportation infrastructure.
Jeremy Hitchcock
I have spoken with countless skilled workers in Boston who want to be a part of the story we’re building here in NH. But they feel cut-off. The distance between Boston and Manchester is almost identical to that of San Francisco and Sunnyvale. Yet everyone would say, without hesitation, that Apple is part of Silicon Valley. Rail would provide those trained Massachusetts workers with that connection to NH, along with countless others.
Mark Brewer
Passenger rail could play an important role in enhancing access to the Manchester-Boston Regional Airport, greatly benefiting NH’s statewide economy.
Matt Cookson
For more than 30 years, the NH High Tech Council has been the voice of technology and innovation in NH, and what we are hearing more and more from new, prospective and established business owners—and certainly from workers—is the following question: what are the most effective ways we can attract and retain talent? Business owners know an effective passenger rail system along NH’s Capitol Corridor allows them to access talented workers throughout southern NH, northern Massachusetts and the greater Boston area. And, a passenger rail system gives workers an efficient commuting option that both provides workers with flexibility in terms of where they live, and also helps alleviate congestion on NH’s busy highways.
Graham Chynoweth
The Boston area, with its world-renowned collection of colleges and universities, is within reach, but the connection between Massachusetts and NH is thwarted by congested highways. Rail expansion can change that. Rail expansion will allow NH’s growing business and high-tech community to tap the vast talent pool in the greater Boston area. Without rail expansion, those congested highways will continue to serve as proverbial roadblocks, impeding the organic growth of NH’s business community, ultimately leading to business stagnation, and ultimately, regression.
Mark Huddleston
For more than 15 years, UNH’s Durham campus has benefitted from daily Amtrak services connecting our community with Boston and Portland. This service expands the horizon for our students, and has proven to be an important admissions advantage for the university. We believe our students and campuses in Manchester and Concord would similarly benefit from access to quality transit opportunities. The university supports transportation investments that connect our campuses to the region and connect NH residents to our institution.
Alex Puglisi Horton
With anemic economic growth, a well-documented lack of in-migration and the percentage of New Hampshire’s population age 65 and older set to double over the next 20 years, policy makers need to make some serious choices. They can maintain the status quo and risk falling further behind our regional counterparts. Or, they can follow the will of more than 74 percent of New Hampshire residents who support passenger rail expansion and the thousands of jobs and hundreds of millions of dollars in real estate development and reinvested worker’s earnings that it will deliver. Either way, large and small business owners are watching.
The following NH businesses and organizations support passenger rail expansion:
- 36 Creative
- Admix
- Anagnost Companies
- Auto Auction of New England
- AutoDesk
- Bank of New England
- Barre Life
- Battle Games
- Beacon Building
- Brady Sullivan Properties
- BrickRiver Technologies
- Brookstone Builders
- Café La Reine
- Campo Enoteca
- Catholic Medical Center
- CCA Global Partners
- Citizens Bank
- Clifford Construction
- Coco Early Real Estate
- Conservation Law Foundation - New Hampshire
- Cookson Strategic Communications
- Currier Museum of Art
- Dancing Lion Chocolate
- Derryfield School
- DesignWares
- DeStefano Architects
- Eckman Construction
- ELC Outdoors
- Elm Grove Companies
- FairPoint Communications
- Fay’s Fine Cabinetry
- FlowTraq
- FortCycle, LLC
- Fortitude Health and Training
- Freedom Energy Logistics
- Gamache Real Estate Group
- Garrison Hill Florists
- Gottesman & Hollis
- Great Island Inn
- Great NH Restaurants
- Greater Manchester Chamber of Commerce
- GreenBike Smoothies, LLC
- H&M Metals, LLC
- Homeschooling Horizons, Inc.
- iCleanSolutions
- Ideabenders, LLC
- Intown Manchester
- J. Ellen Design, LLC
- Jupiter Hall
- Kanteres Real Estate
- Keller Williams Agent Paul Laflamme
- Kelley Stelling Contemporary
- La Carreta – Londonderry & Derry
- Lambert and Associates – Senator Gary Lambert
- LG Strategies
- Live Free & Start
- M.R. Hilbert Electrical Inspections & Training
- Manchester Ink Link
- Manchester-Boston Regional Airport
- Marzen Group
- Mayor Joyce Craig – City of Manchester
- McMahon & Wright Group – Wells Fargo Advisors
- MERC Sales
- Minim
- Mint Bistro
- Montagne Communications
- New Hampshire High Tech Council
- New Hampshire Institute of Art
- New Hampshire Railroad Revitalization Association
- New Hampshire Sierra Club
- New Sky Productions
- Northwestern Mutual
- Old Port Properties
- Oracle + DYN
- Parallel Wireless
- Paul Bergeron and Associates
- Persian Rug Gallery
- PillPack
- Polystitch
- Primary Strategies
- Pro Drone, LLC
- Puritan Backroom & Conference Center
- Queen City Cupcakes
- Raceway Electric LLC
- Randy Turmel and Associates
- Reach Communications
- Red Arrow Diner
- Remote Web Workplace, LLC
- Republic Café
- Robie’s Country Store
- Saint Anselm College
- Schall Creative
- SilverTech
- Simchik Planning & Development
- Solomon Consulting
- Soujourn Partners
- Southern New Hampshire University
- St. Mary’s Bank
- Stonyfield Farm, Inc.
- Tangled Roots Herbal, LLC
- The Bookery
- The Cerato Group
- The Lannan Company
- Unique and Chic Designs
- University of New Hampshire
- Volvo of Exeter
- Ward Properties
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