Transcript Prosperous Time for the Region

From Ghost Town
to
Economic Engine
Pease 25 Years After
Its Closing
Applied Economic Research
Laconia, New Hampshire
June 2015
Ghost Town to Economic Engine…..
Pease 25 Years After Its Closing
In December of 1988 the United States Commission on Base Realignment and Closure recommended the closing of 86 US military
installations. The first major installation slated for closure on the list was the 35 year old, 4,255 acre Pease Air Force Base in
Portsmouth New Hampshire. Prior to its closing in 1991 the base had 3,700 military personnel and employed about 400 civilians.
At the time of the closure one of the last military personnel commented “It feels like a ghost town. It’s dead.”
Today the redevelopment of Pease is recognized as a nationally prominent success story and is home to more than 250 companies.
Pease today, under the guidance of the Pease Development Authority, stands as the principal economic engine in New Hampshire’s
prosperous Seacoast region, a major local and state tax generator, a model of how the public and private sectors can cooperate to
their mutual benefit and the home to an amazingly diverse mix of well-paid manufacturing, education, and service employers.
This report was prepared by Applied Economic Research at the request of the Pease Development Authority. It examines the
performance and impact of Pease on the major local and regional economies. The major observations are:
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The Seacoast economy has outperformed the New Hampshire economy in both the short and long term, due in no
small part to the success of Pease—the economy has added nearly 32,000 jobs since Pease closed and its 2015
unemployment rate is under 4 percent;
Driven by activity at Pease, the pace of job growth in Portsmouth (71%) has been more than twice as fast as that
of New Hampshire since Pease closed;
There are now just under 10,000 jobs at the Tradeport, supporting a total regional job impact of over 14,000 jobs;
Wages paid by Tradeport employers total an estimated $584 million;
Regional wages, including jobs off the Tradeport supported by Tradeport activity, total over $725 million;
The Tradeport generates an estimated $16 million annually in Business and Meals/Rental taxes to the State;
There is nearly 4.5 million square feet of existing and approved building space at Pease—the equivalent of
nearly 100 football fields;
Total PILOT Revenues and Municipal Service Fees total over $6 million annually.
Applied Economic Research
Pease Tradeport Economic Impact 2015
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Region Experiences Strong Job Growth During
Pease’s Development Era
Covered Employment Trends
120,000
JOBS
• Portsmouth Labor Market
Adds 22,338 jobs;
100,000
• Combined Portsmouth
and Dover Labor Markets
Add 31,740 jobs.
45,380
42,874
80,000
60,000
35,978
40,000
62,084
20,000
66,140
43,802
1991
Applied Economic Research
Pease Tradeport Economic Impact 2015
2002
2013
Portsmouth Labor Market
Dover-Durham Labor Market
3
Unemployment Rate Is Low
May 2015
5.0%
4.0%
3.7%
3.3%
3.0%
2.6%
2.0%
1.0%
Portsmouth
Portsmouth Labor Market
State
NOTE: Portsmouth Labor Market includes Brentwood, Epping, Exeter, Greenland,
Hampton, New Castle, Newfields, Newington, Newmarket, North Hampton, Portsmouth,
Rye and Stratham (per NH Employment Security Commission).
Applied Economic Research
Pease Tradeport Economic Impact 2015
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Portsmouth and Its Labor Market Register the Strongest Job
Growth—Portsmouth Adding Jobs at
More Than Twice the State Rate
Comparative Employment Change 1991-2013
90%
71%
70%
51%
50%
31%
26%
30%
10%
Portsmouth
Portsmouth Labor Market
Dover-Durham Labor
Market
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Pease Tradeport Economic Impact 2015
State
5
Pease is Dominant Job Growth Generator in the
City of Portsmouth
JOBS
25,000
20,000
15,000
10,000
5,000
1991
2002
At the Tradeport
2013
Balance of Portsmouth
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Pease Tradeport Economic Impact 2015
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9,540 Jobs at Tradeport +1,750 Projected;
14,400 Regional Jobs Including Supported Off-Tradeport Jobs
Pease Job Impact
16,000
JOBS
14,400
12,000
9,540
7,475
8,000
4,950
4,000
225
150
1991
2002
Jobs At Tradeport
2015
Combined Tradeport and Regional Job Impact
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Pease Tradeport Economic Impact 2015
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250 +/- Occupants: Tradeport Houses Diversity of Users,
Large and Small
• Manufacturing, Technology: Sig Sauer, Lonza Biologics, Redhook
Ale Brewery, Bottom Line Technologies, etc.;
• Government: Air National Guard, US Department of State Passport and
Visa Center, etc.;
• Educational: Great Bay Community College, Southern New Hampshire
University, University of New Hampshire, Franklin Pierce University and
Granite State College;
• Services: John Hancock, HCA Health Services, Northeast Rehabilitation
Hospital, Sun Life Financial, Marriot Residence Inn, Pierce Atwood, Five
Restaurants and Food Court and Pease Golf Course, etc.;
• Aviation/Aerospace: PlaneSense, Seacoast Helicopters, Seacoast
Aviation, Port City Air, etc.
Applied Economic Research Pease Tradeport
Economic Impact 2015
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Nearly $600 Million in Wages Paid at the Tradeport—
Nearly Triple the 2002 Figure
$800,000,000
$583,162,000
$600,000,000
$400,000,000
$208,751,000
$200,000,000
$3,487,000
$0
1991
2002
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Pease Tradeport Economic Impact 2015
2015
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Combined Regional Wage Impact is in
Excess of $725 million
$800,000,000
$729,436,000
$600,000,000
$400,000,000
$276,754,000
$200,000,000
$5,218,000
$0
1991
2002
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Pease Tradeport Economic Impact 2015
2015
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Tradeport Generates Over $16 Million Annually in
Business and Meals/Rental Taxes to
the State of New Hampshire
$20,000,000
$16,200,000
$15,000,000
$12,400,000
$10,000,000
$5,000,000
$3,800,000
$0
Business Profits and Enterprise
Tax
Meals and Rental Tax
Applied Economic Research
Pease Tradeport Economic Impact 2015
Combined
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Pease Has Nearly 4.5 Million Square Feet of Space Completed,
Under Construction and Approved
SQUARE FEET
5,000,000
4,474,000
4,329,000
4,000,000
3,000,000
2,000,000
1,000,000
145,000
Completed/Under Construction
Approved
Applied Economic Research
Pease Tradeport Economic Impact 2015
Total
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Total Taxable and Exempt Real Estate Investment at Pease
Now Exceeds One-Half Billion Dollars at Market Value
$600,000,000
$554,159,000
$503,239,000
$450,000,000
$300,000,000
$150,000,000
$50,920,000
$0
Taxable
Exempt
Total
Source: City of Portsmouth Assessor’s Office Assessed Value Equalized to Market Value Based
on 2014 Portsmouth Equalization Rate (88.5%)
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Pease Tradeport Economic Impact 2015
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Taxable Assessed Value at Pease Is Now
In Excess of $445 million
$500,000,000
$445,366,800
$400,000,000
$300,000,000
$243,763,500
$201,603,300
$200,000,000
$100,000,000
Airport District Municipal Service Fee
(Excludes School Portion of Tax Rate)
Non Airport District (Portsmouth PILOT
at Full Tax Rate)
Total
Source: City of Portsmouth Assessor’s Office
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Pease Tradeport Economic Impact 2015
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Annual PILOT Revenues and Municipal Service Fees
Total Over $6 million
$8,000,000
$6,076,904
$6,000,000
$4,000,000
$3,649,020
$2,427,884
$2,000,000
$0
Airport District Municipal Service Fee Non Airport District (Portsmouth PILOT
(Excludes School Portion of Tax Rate)
at Full Tax Rate)
Total
NOTE: “Airport District Municipal Service Fees” are paid to Portsmouth to reimburse the cost of services
provided by Portsmouth to properties in Newington. These fees exclude the school portion of the tax rate.
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Pease Tradeport Economic Impact 2015
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