New Plan to Bring Life Back to Claremonts Mills

By Kevin Forrest on Thursday, January 27, 2005.

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It's an old story.

The decline in manufacturing has left many New Hampshire cities and towns with hulking, dilapidated empty mill buildings.

Often they sit along what might otherwise be beautiful river front.

Rehabilitating these old mills has not been easy.

But Claremont has been trying.

And the city has met with some success..

The Vermont Standard's Kevin Forrest reports:

(ambient Lyons chatter)
Claremont Planning and Economic Development Director Anthony Lyons looks out his office window.

Across the nearly frozen Sugar River, he points out the dark outlines of the long-empty Monadnock textile mill buildings.

But soon, if all goes according to plan, this view will be lit up with activity.

Lyons and others have crafted a deal to breathe life back into three of the most prominent buildings.

Lyons needs only to look up from his desk to see a real-life reminder of the task ahead.

Lyons - and looking out our windows every day and seeing what should be rehabbed and what should be done is a kick in the pants on a day-to-day basis.

The city has struck a deal with three developers to renovate unused space into housing, retail, commercial and the newest Common Man Restaurant.

The city will funnel grant money into infrastructure work that supports the projects.

Developers will put up deposits and fees and meet deadlines.

But they get the city-owned buildings for free.

Lyons says the city will enjoy major improvements with minimum financial exposure.

At the same time it will keep a high degree of control.

Lyons - so we have the opportunity to develop it in the way we wish to and decide how it gets done, when it gets done and the manner in which it gets done. Which may seem difficult but frankly it’s more of a luxury when you can control your own destiny and Claremont finally is ready to do that.

Alicia Beck is executive director of Main Street Claremont.

Her organization is working to revitalize downtown, a block away from the riverfront mill buildings.

She says this new project fits in nicely with the other projects she's working on.

Beck - Oh it’s a huge deal. We’ve never seen something this big in Claremont…It’s been 30 years that some of these buildings have been standing empty …and so it’s amazing that we can take these buildings and transform them into something that is can be quite vital and very vibrant and have a significant impact on the community.

But Beck also sees this project in bigger terms.

It' more than just remodling a bunch of old buildings….it's a sign of Claremont's future.

Beck - People’s willingness to sink millions of dollars into a development like this speaks volumes to where Claremont’s headed and people see the potential here. Developers that are serious developers, developers with real serious money are coming here because they see they’re going to reap the reward from being the first investors in Claremont and we’re really at the edge of popping.

And this mill project isn't happening in a vacuum.

The latest unemployment figures show Claremont at less than 2% jobless….just over half the state average.

Some large retailers like Home Depot and Lowes have noticed a growing market and are moving to town.

And none of this is lost on mill developer John Illick, who can boast of a successful string of projects in Vermont.

Illick - I think Claremont… is a city that is coming out of some doldrums into a very exciting time. And I think the mills themselves are outstanding pieces of architecture. It’s just a very exciting piece of property in an exciting town.

But not everything in this picture is perfect.

Persuading down-sized modern businesses to set up shop in these hulking mills can be tough.

Bob Flint runs the chamber of commerce across the river in Springfield, Vt.

Flint - It’s sort of a paradox. You have big buildings but you don’t have space. And if we have a business that comes to us and wants x amount of space sometimes we haven’t been able to accommodate them because we have big, big properties that are sort of hamstrung in a variety of ways. I salute Claremont for taking on the mill buildings the way they have and thinking of a different way to use them and thinking of a way to get them developed in a way that doesn’t expose the city financially.

(ambient sound – frozen rushing river)
The temperature dips well below zero, but the Sugar River still pushes forward with the energy that once powered Claremont’s textile mills.

The mills brought jobs and attracted workers from across the region creating wealth and contributing to its culture.

But since the 1960s, the buildings have stood largely empty.

Federal money in the 1970s renovated some former mills into housing and office space.

David Messier chairs Claremont’s historic district commission.

Messier - Well anytime you can take an old building that has some integrity and has a story to tell even if they can’t be used for their original purposes, if you can rehabilitate them to another purpose it’s always an exciting thing for someone into historic preservation so it’s very exciting, a very exciting time.

Downtown's cheerleader Alicia Beck says that image of Claremont as a gutted old mill town is changing.

Beck - You know Claremont has had a stigma for quite some time…Over the last several years, though, Claremonters themselves have begun to see the real beauty in Claremont and begun to see the real potential in Claremont.

Work is slated to begin in October. Projects could start coming to life by the summer of 2006.

For NHPR news, this is Kevin Forrest in Claremont