This rendering from plans before the town of Durham show the new buildings — each 162,000 square feet — that commercial property developer R.J. Kelly proposes on Technology Drive.
Commercial property developer R.J. Kelly’s proposed enhancements to its Technology Drive campus in Durham could increase the overall total space to about 850,000 square feet and provide up to 1,500 jobs.
The town of Durham is considering Kelly’s application to construct two buildings at the Technology Drive site, each 162,000 square feet. Both the town’s Planning Board and Conservation Commission have the plans under review.
R.J. Kelly (RJK) is a commercial real estate investment, development, management, and construction company based in Burlington, Mass., with 14 properties spanning multiple southern New Hampshire communities, including Hudson, Nashua, Salem, Londonderry, Manchester, and Amherst.
Its properties accommodate several well branded companies, Amazon, Red Bull, Delaware North, and Loomis to name a few.
RJK acquired the Technology Drive, Durham, property, located near Route 4, in 2021. The 170-acre site had been the home of Goss International, maker and supplier of printing press and production equipment. Goss built on the property in 1986, adding to it and renovating it in 2003.
As the printing industry declined, the building changed hands over the years to various entities and partnerships. R.J. Kelly, using 121 Tech Drive LLC as the purchasing entity, bought the property from Lexington Durham Limited Partnership for $21 million in October 2021.
To date, according to RJK CEO Brandon Kelly, the development of the site has gone well.
“We were very successful in leasing all of the warehouse/industrial space. That was really the crux of our initial business plan over there, and that went really well, really quickly,” said Kelly.
Among its current tenants are: Safe Superintelligence Inc. (SSI), which develops artificial intelligence systems; Dachser, a global logistics and transport company; and Brazonics, which manufactures precision thermal products for the aerospace and defense industries. On the office side, it is home to the corporate headquarters of RiverWoods with its network of senior housing and healthcare communities.
The University of New Hampshire, the state’s flagship public university located in Durham, has a significant presence at the site in its John Olson Advanced Manufacturing Center. It helps companies and manufacturers turn prototypes into production, bridging technology gaps and providing hands-on student and industry resources.
Gov. Kelly Ayotte and the Executive Council held its Sept. 2 meeting at the center, and the governor in a social media post said: “Glad we had the opportunity to highlight the Center’s outstanding programs …”
Some of the companies that are part of the Olson Center include Spee3D, An Australian 3D metal manufacturing and cold-spray additive printing company; Exail, A French maritime robotics company that emphasizes ocean mapping and technology; Kleine Marine, a sonar technology company involved in marine research; and Airtho, which provides cleanroom products and solutions.
Kelly is mindful of the fact that some of those entities might be moving in the future to The Edge at West End, a nearby 60-acre mixed-use project of academic, corporate, government, residential, and entertainment uses. That work has just started.
But he continues to admire and believe in the multi-functionality of the site, especially as the new square footage becomes available.
“It is a really functional building. Every stitch of it is functional,” said Kelly. “If you were to walk it, you wouldn’t realize that it was actually light manufacturing assembly at one point in time.”
As the new space is being reviewed for approval, Kelly believes its suitability leans toward high-tech manufacturing users, though it can be configured for any number of uses.
“We definitely envision more high-tech manufacturing,” said Kelly. “It could be just day-to-day distribution as well. You have to build versatile buildings that can cater to a multitude of needs.”
That’s exactly how the current space functions, he noted.
“Parts of that building are pure warehouse right now. Parts of that are not pure warehouse. Parts of it are tech manufacturing. Parts of it are a combination of the two. Parts of it are office. Riverwoods has an amazing office in there. So, we try to cast a wide net that doesn’t preclude us from attracting whatever type of tenant demand could be out there,” said Kelly.
Kelly believes the New Hampshire market is attractive for commercial activity related to manufacturing, warehouse and office space.
“You’ve seen some of the other tremendous sites that are in the state of New Hampshire that when they come available they get gobbled up and that’s a real testament to what the Legislature and everybody in the state of New Hampshire is doing to attract companies and to the quality of life, the tax structure in the state, the improved transportation networks in the state, all of that, to the benefit of attracting job creators, and that’s what we’re trying to do at our site,” he said.
It’s notable that given all the angst about data centers in the state, Durham Town Manager Todd Selig in his regular Friday Updates to the community said in his Sept. 4 newsletter about the proposal: “The Town will retain appropriate third-party expertise as needed to review complex technical elements of the project. A data center is NOT being contemplated for this site.”
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