Pease finds success on the ground
Seventeen years after the last B-52 Stratofortress lumbered down the runway and roared into the sky over Interstate 95, some see the former Pease Air Force Base as the poster child for the successful decommissioning of a military base.
"I don't think anyone has done it better. We have five major construction projects under way totaling half a million square feet. And, Alpha Flying [a shared ownership airline] just opened an 84,000-square-foot headquarters," said Arthur H. Nickless Jr., chairman of the Pease Development Authority.
Under civilian control the 3,000-acre site now has two components - Pease International Tradeport and Portsmouth International Airport. The tradeport is flourishing. The airport? Not so much.
The tradeport is now home to 256 companies occupying 4.4 million square feet of office and industrial space. It's home to Lonza Biologics, Newmarket International, Sun Life Assurance of Canada, and the US Department of State Passport Center.
"Diversity is the key," said Nickless. "We have various tenants ranging from small software companies and colleges to insurance companies and medical facilities."
The reason, said Nickless, is "location, location, location. Fifty miles from Boston . . . and a seaport [Portsmouth] nearby."
The sprawling campus has miles of roads and sidewalks snuggled up to forests and fields. At lunchtime, dozens of walkers and joggers share the sidewalks while flocks of wild turkeys and deer are often visible at the edge of the fields.
"We employ 7,000 people that generate about $500 million in revenue a year," said David Mullen, acting executive director of the development authority, who estimates that the tradeport generates about 3,500 jobs in the surrounding area.
"I can remember when nobody wanted to talk to us. They thought we were crazy," said Renee Riedel , a real estate developer, who with partner Dan Plummer has developed 16 properties at the site over the last decade. She said the businesses range from small mom-and-pop operations to Fortune 500 companies.
"Sun Life Assurance of Canada began with a small office at the tradeport and they now occupy three floors. It's a great place for a business to grow," she said.
The former base also has a park and ride lot and bus service to Boston.
The airfield began as a 300-acre municipal airport in the 1930s. The Navy used the airport during World War II. The Air Force assumed control of the base in 1951 and it was expanded to become a base for Strategic Air Command bombers during the Cold War.
The runway is more than 2 miles long, one of the longest on the East Coast, and is an alternate landing site for the Space Shuttle. It is also home to a commercial airport, is a refueling base for troop transports flying back and forth to Afghanistan and Iraq, and is home to the New Hampshire Air National Guard's 157th Air Refueling Wing, which flies KC-135 Stratotanker air refueling jets.
And while everything else seems to be taking off at Pease, the commercial airport has yet to get off the ground.
Several years ago, Pan Am Clipper Connection operated routes to Florida, but the company abandoned the airfield.
Allegiant Air began seasonal service from Pease to Orlando/Sanford Airport in October 2005. Passenger numbers from October 2005 to September 2006 totaled 41,504 with four flights per week, while November 2006 to April 2007 saw 10,366 passengers flying two flights per week. Allegiant canceled its service from Pease in July 2007 to pursue what it saw as more lucrative routes from Bangor.
In May 2007, Skybus Airlines began service at the airport. The new, low-cost airline operated six flights daily; two to Columbus, Ohio; two to Greensboro, N.C.; one to Punta Gorda, Fla., and one to St. Augustine, Fla. The airline filed for bankruptcy and stopped service in April 2008.
"Pan Am service was not consistent, Allegiant was successful on a seasonal basis, and Skybus did fine. Its planes to St. Augustine and Punta Gorda were flying at 75 to 80 percent of capacity. "It wasn't lack of passengers, but the price of jet fuel and other costs that did it in," said Mullen.
He said the development authority is using Skybus's "success" to market to other companies.
"The revenue from the tradeport is meant to subsidize the airport," said Mullen, who still sees a bright future for the airport. "We remarketing ourselves as a low-cost alternative to Boston. Our parking is free. You can practically take a flight from Pease for the amount you would pay to park for a week in Boston."
Mullen does not see the airport's proximity to Manchester-Boston Regional Airport in Manchester, the Portland International Jetport, and Logan Airport in Boston as an impediment.
He said according to FAA statistics, there are about 40 million people who use airlines in the region, and that number will double to 80 million by 2020. "The need for increased capacity will force us into the picture."
The airport terminal is undergoing a $3.2 million expansion that is due to be completed at the end of the month.
"We're adding a second baggage carousel so travelers don't have to wait for their luggage, and we're creating separate waiting areas for national and international customers," said Mullen.
Nickless said the development authority is also talking to airlines every week in hopes of drawing them to Portsmouth.
"We're a jewel that just needs a little more polish," said Mullen. 