NH Business Notebook: Mission accomplished

Mark Stebbins Community Center opens on Manchester’s West Side

The Catholic Health Foundation of Greater Manchester announced a $1 million contribution Tuesday to the Mark Stebbins Community Center. (Photo by Ever Changing Photography)

Mike Cote

For years, Diane Fitzpatrick talked with her board of directors at the Boys & Girls Club of Greater Manchester about expanding to the West Side, home to 25% of the city’s population.

“I jokingly called it our ‘Apollo Project’ — an ambitious idea that sometimes felt beyond our reach.”

After a 14-month construction mission, the “Apollo” landed at the Kelly Falls apartment complex in September with the completion of the Mark Stebbins Community Center, the culmination of a vision by the late Mark Stebbins, a longtime business leader and philanthropist.

Anchored by the club and Amoskeag Health, the center will support youth and families through after-school care, a food pantry, meeting space and other services through nonprofit partners. More than 200 people, including organizers and donors, attended a celebration under the same tent where most of them gathered in the rain for the ground-breaking.

Fitzpatrick’s Apollo moniker was apt: The West Side has needed the services the center will provide since at least 1969 — shortly before my mom was left raising four kids by herself in a third-floor apartment behind Uncle Bob’s supermarket on Kelly Street, just a few blocks away. Back then, a visit to the club meant a bus ride across town.

The same bus ride was needed for Hashira Rodriguez, the club’s director of development, who also grew up on the West Side. Rodriguez, who joined the club when she was 10, was among the staffers greeting guests arriving Sept. 8 at the new center.

Government representatives speaking at the event included Gov. Kelly Ayotte and Rep. Chris Pappas, who both took time out from campaigning for their primary contests. Mayor Jay Ruais said the center represents “transformative change.”

“Our kids will benefit for generations to come,” Ruais said. “It is remarkable and life-changing.”

The appearance of a brand-new building in that neighborhood, especially one designed to promote a sense of belonging, can’t be overstated. While ownership may be different, most of the storefronts along Kelly, Bremer and Amory streets — the East-West thoroughfares that make up that section of the West Side — have barely changed in decades. It’s a part of town that could use a boost.

The public-private partnership for the Stebbins Center raised $20.7 million, including $1 million announced Tuesday by the Catholic Health Care Foundation of Greater Manchester, a nonprofit launched with $40 million from the $110 million sale of Catholic Medical Center to HCA Corp.

West Side resident Alex Walker, who worked 13 years for CMC and was its last CEO, announced the surprise donation at the event.

“The thing that strikes me about this facility is it’s as much about investing in a world-class community center as it is about making a statement to the families and children of the West Side of Manchester,” Walker said. “And that statement is: We love you. We value you. You matter, and we’re going to support you.”

Other businesses that contributed major funding include M&T Bank, St. Mary’s Bank, CGI Business Solutions, Northeast Delta Dental, Hannaford and Bangor Savings Bank.

“That is what I think makes this place so special,” said Kris McCracken, president and CEO of Amoskeag Health. “It wasn’t one organization. It wasn’t one person. It wasn’t one grant, one donor, one elected official, one architect, one construction team or one community leader. It was all of us.”

In her opening remarks, Sally Stebbins shared with the group that she met her late husband, Mark, 50 years ago on Sept. 9, the day both of them began working for Chase Manhattan Bank in New York City.

She recalled his love for the West Side and his dedication to helping people.

The Mark Stebbins Community Center was scheduled to begin serving children and families Sept. 9 on Manchester’s West Side. (Photo by John W. Hession)

As chairman and CEO of Procon, Mark Stebbins was the third-generation leader of a design-build construction management company.

“As we all know, this mission doesn’t end with the completion of the building,” Sally Stebbins said. “In fact, now the real positive effect begins. Mark’s vision and legacy shifts to stories of impact starting tomorrow when the doors open to children and families.

“Those who pass through those doors will have access to healthcare, children’s after-school activities, a food pantry and referrals to other nonprofits all in one place, which will impact lives for generations to come.”