Tech center receives funding

Centerra Park is proposed site

Published January 26, 2004; Category: ADMINISTRATION

On Jan. 15, U.S. Sen. Judd Gregg (R-N.H.) joined representatives from local, regional and federal economic development agencies, the state of New Hampshire and Dartmouth for the presentation of $2.6 million in federal funding to support a proposed Dartmouth Regional Technology Center (DRTC).

The center would serve as a regional catalyst for economic growth in northern and western New Hampshire by providing an "incubator" for new high-technology businesses, particularly biotech firms. Offering a variety of services and resources to such businesses in their early stages, the center would be located in Dartmouth's Centerra Resource Park in Lebanon, N.H. Plans call for groundbreaking in spring 2005.

The North Country Council, the Grafton County Economic Development Council and Dartmouth are partners in the project. Dartmouth has donated two lots at Centerra to support a building for the center, and the three-year-old Dartmouth Entrepreneurial Network (DEN) is playing a key role in the effort, coordinating activities and helping secure support. Gregg was instrumental in securing the federal support for the DRTC from the U.S. Department of Commerce's Economic Development Administration (EDA).

"When construction of the Technology Center is complete, it will be an excellent example of how partnerships between organizations, both public and private, can foster the growth and success of entrepreneurial companies through support of both services and resources," Gregg said in a news release about the funding. "This grant from the EDA will allow the center to meet some of its primary goals of fostering economic growth and creating high-quality jobs while maintaining the rural character of the region."

The DRTC is an outgrowth of a statewide effort begun in 2002 to establish two such centers in New Hampshire, one near Dartmouth and the other on the seacoast.

During the ceremony at the Norris Cotton Cancer Center in Lebanon, David Sampson, Assistant U.S. Secretary of Commerce and head of the Commerce Department's Economic Development Administration, presented the federal funding for the DRTC to Michael King, Executive Director of the North Country Council. Also present to help accept the check were Steve Epstein, Executive Director of the Grafton County (N.H.) Economic Development Council; Stephen P. Spielberg, Dean of Dartmouth Medical School; Mark Israel, Director of the Norris Cotton Cancer Center; Gregg; Ray Burton, a member of the New Hampshire Governor's Executive Council; and Gregg Fairbrothers, Executive Director of DEN.

By ROLAND ADAMS