http://youtu.be/qtEmVlSlpZU
“This theme, here, is you can work here, you can live here, you can start a business here; NH is a fabulous state.” – Ward D’Elia, project architect
If you’re a frequent driver along Interstate 93, you’ve watched the Hooksett Welcome Center redevelopment take shape on both sides of the highway.
It has been a pretty amazing project that is coming together out of a unique public-private partnership (between the State of New Hampshire and Granite State Hospitality).
Coming together quickly, we might add. In a little more than a month, the New Hampshire Liquor and Wine Outlet Stores will open on both sides of the highway, along with the convenience store and the restrooms on the northbound side. Those amenities will open southbound in December and a grand opening for both centers will happen next spring.
If you are a just-the-facts kind of person, here are some interesting stats:
– About 200 workers are on site daily at the two centers;
– Over 95 percent of the workers, contractors, subcontractors and materials are from New Hampshire;
– Monthly construction expenditures average about $3 million;
– Over 3 million visitors will stop at the centers annually.
We took a tour recently of the northbound center, which, you will see in the video, is coming along nicely. What a great way to greet visitors on their journeys to the Granite State.
Lorna Colquhoun is Communications Director for the NH Division of Economic Development.