Envision Technologies creates stay, work, play in one Londonderry site

New Hampshire entrepreneurs Ken and Grace Solinsky are experienced in creating businesses. On Tuesday, they cut the ribbon in Londonderry on something much more — an industrial, residential, child care, retail strip, all rolled into one.

The couple, who found success by creating, running and eventually selling the defense-contracting company Insight Technology, hosted some 500 politicians, business leaders and workers at their latest endeavor — The Village at Technology Park.

A view of one section of the 440 apartments being built at the Village on Technology Hill in Londonderry. (Photo by Jodie Andruskevich)

The 110-acre development is located off Harvey Road in north Londonderry.

Plans for the complex include:

• The headquarters for the Solinsky’s latest company, Envision Technology. A two-story, 234,000-square-foot building, (which compares to about 1 1/2 Walmart Supercenters) will house all aspects of the company. Expectations call for 1,500 permanent jobs.
• 440 garden-style apartments in four-story buildings with balconies and lots of surrounding greenspace.
• A 200-child childcare operation run by Easterseals NH.
• A commercial building that will include a market, health professionals and a beautician.
• A dog park, a basketball hoop, even a pickleball court.

The Envision Technology building is expected to be completed in the first half of 2028. Like Solinsky’s initial company, Envision designs and manufactures electro-optical and infra-red systems for the military.

Solinsky sold Insight to L-3 Harris, a publicly traded company, in 2010. Envision, which started in 2019, marks his second endeavor into the field.

Solinsky said the 1,500 jobs won’t be created immediately, but Envision is growing faster than Insight. Insight took 20 years to grow its workforce to 1,300.

According to the company’s website, it has several contracts with the U.S. military for advanced products. Two five-year deals total $350 million.

“I enjoy making a meaningful contribution to our society and our nation, and I enjoy being engaged with people who are doing meaningful work,” Solinsky told the NH Business Review.

Currently, Envision operates out of three locations: one adjacent to the Londonderry site, one in the Manchester Millyard and one at the former Union Leader newspaper building in east Manchester.

Ribbon-cutting ceremonies take place on Tuesday afternoon at the opening of the Village on Technology Hill in Londonderry. From left: U.S. Rep. Chris Pappas, U.S. Sen. Maggie Hassan, Grace and Ken Solinsky, owners and developers of the new facility; Gov. Kelly Ayotte, and Dick Anagnost. The Village on Technology Hill house 440 apartments along with retail and high-tech facilities. (Photo by Jodie Andruskevich)

The other Solinsky company, SpotOn, uses GPS technology to create a virtual fence for backyard pets. Its 20,000-square-foot building is expected to open this fall.

Perched above everything at the Technology Park will be a 5,000-square-foot office building that will include the Solinsky Family Foundation. Beneficiaries of Solinksy philanthropy have included  Elliot Hospital, which named a cancer care center after the family, and Clarkson University in upstate New York, where Solinsky graduated in 1971.

During a rain-drenched ceremony, the Solinskys and several speakers played up the stay-work-play nature of the project.

Solinsky spoke about visiting the homes of workers at his former company, often to comfort them following a death, injury or illness and being appalled by where they lived.

“They deserve decent housing,” Solinsky said.

“This isn’t a new type of development; it’s a historical development,” said Manchester developer Dick Anagnost. He compared the endeavor to 19th century Manchester mill companies, which built mills, housing for workers and laid out streets for the growing city.

Anagnost Companies is managing the apartments. Anagnost said the monthly rents range from $2,400 for a one-bedroom apartment to $3,200 for a three-bedroom.

Some have already been leased, and tenants are expected to begin moving in Aug. 1.

Apartments will be available to people who work in the manufacturing facilities along Harvey Road. Solinsky said workers at Envision and SpotOn will have discounted rates; those rents will “depend on the circumstances.”

Solinsky would not discuss financing arrangements for the project, but he said no private equity is involved. Anagnost valued the apartments, retail and childcare and accompanying land and infrastructure work between $160 million and $200 million.

One speaker, North Branch Construction President Bruce Blazon, said the project is the largest privately funded construction project in New Hampshire from 2025 to 2027.

The ceremony drew U.S. Sen. Maggie Hassan and U.S. Rep Chris Pappas. Both Democrats, they touted a bipartisan housing reform bill that is making its way through Congress.

Gov. Kelly Ayotte called the Solinskys “serial entrepreneurs.”

“This sets an example for how we should do things in the state of New Hampshire,” Ayotte said.

Ken Solinsky, owner and developer along with his wife Grace of the Village on Technology Hill in Londonderry speaks to the crowd during ribbon cutting ceremonies on Tuesday afternoon. (Photo by Jodie Andruskevich)

The ceremony involved a traditional ribbon cutting, but eschewed the ceremonial ground breaking for a controlled blast. Dignitaries hit a button that triggered a rain-subdued boom.

For months, contractors have been blasting through bedrock to create buildable land at the site.

Solinsky called it frivolous to bring out shovels for a ceremonial groundbreaking. In New Hampshire, breaking ground more likely involve granite, and developers have to truck in soil for a ceremony.

“It’s inefficient. It’s frivolous,” he said. “That is not who we are.”