The Greater Concord area has so much to offer, whether you seek a great place to raise a family, a new home for your business, or a unique place to explore a community rich in New England history and culture.

Concord offers the best of city and country living with a quality of life that is hard to match. Recently ranked ninth-best smaller city (out of 150 cities) according to The Rating Guide to America's Smaller Cities, Concord boasts schools that produce an above-average number of college-bound graduates, warm communities, grassroots government, diverse cultural and recreational activities and one of the nation's lowest crime rates.

Greater Concord is also a great place to do business. Vital economic growth over the past seven years has been credited to the city government's commitment to work closely with businesses considering opening or expanding their facilities here.

Concord was also recently ranked fourth in terms of per capita income according to The New Rating Guide to Life in America's Small Cities. On top of numerous state jobs and the large retail employment base, there are more than 150 manufacturing companies within a 25-mile radius of Concord.

Numerous economic development initiatives are under way or in the planning stages. These include developing a four-mile stretch of vacant land near Interstate 93, building a major convention center complex, expanding and developing industrial park space and enlarging the municipal airport.

As the state capital and county seat for Merrimack County, Concord is not only headquarters to numerous state, county, local and federal agencies but also home to a number of major law firms and professional organizations that work with government.

Every four years the city springs to national attention during the presidential primary and is already cranking into high gear in anticipation of the 2000 primary. Presidential hopefuls have begun descending upon Concord and surrounding areas to court residents in the hopes of garnering a victory in the prestigious First in the Nation New Hampshire Primary. With the exception of 1992, no presidential candidate has gone on to win the presidency without first winning our state primary.

Most New Hampshire towns still adhere to the traditional selectmen form of government, and each spring residents gather at annual Town Meetings to discuss and vote on the town budget and other municipal issues.

Concord and the surrounding communities boast some of the lowest crime rates in the country. Thanks to the recent initiation of a statewide 911 system, when emergencies do arise, centralized emergency response is more efficient than ever.

To keep children safe, the Concord Police Department Community Resources Unit conducts the DARE (drug and alcohol resistance education) and GREAT (gang resistance education and training) programs and a ride along program. Concord has four fire stations and more than 90 full-time firefighters. Most surrounding towns rely on many dedicated volunteer firefighters. Neighboring communities routinely help each other through the Mutual Aid police and fire emergency network.

The Merrimack River made Concord a transportation and trade hub and led the city to prosperity. In 1815 the Middlesex Canal was opened, connecting Concord to Boston. Though the Merrimack's days as a premier trade route have long since faded, the city's geographic location has kept it in the fore of commerce. While each town surrounding Concord is distinctly different from its neighbors, all share a rural Yankee flavor. There is much for residents, employers and tourists to treasure and enjoy about the community spirit, low crime rate, quiet lifestyle, picturesque countryside, and grassroots government characteristic of the area.

With the instrumental efforts of development-oriented Downtown Concord Revitalization Corporation and Downtown Concord, Inc., which organizes theme shopping events and other promotions, the city created attractive public spaces and provided more parking, while private businesses and property owners redeveloped and restored their buildings to resemble the upscale, nostalgic feeling of downtown's heyday.

Concord offers the warmth, friendliness and local color of a small New England town, while still offering all the services, entertainment, dining, shopping, cultural and business opportunities of a modern city. Downtown also serves as the backdrop for special shopping events, theater and entertainment.

Today, Concord is building upon its reputation as a crossroads with plans for an expanded municipal airport and a newly built multi-modal transportation center, easily visible from I-93. The center provides Trailways bus service and a park-and-ride commuter lot. City planners are mulling reopening rail service through Concord. The city lies conveniently at the intersection of I-89 and I-93 and Routes 4 and 202/9 to move motorists to all points across the Granite State and to points in Vermont, Maine and even Canada.

Speaking of travel, Boston is just a one-hour drive to the south. In under an hour, residents can visit Atlantic Ocean beaches in New Hampshire's Seacoast Region, participate in recreational activities on Lake Winnipesaukee in the Lakes Region, or hit the slopes and peaks of the scenic White Mountains Region. Vermont, Maine and Canada are also short day or weekend trips away. Concord was recently ranked the ninth best smaller city (out of 150 cities analyzed) according to The Rating Guide to America's Smaller Cities in terms of climate, activities, economy, education, sophistication, health care, housing, public safety, transportation and proximity to major suburban areas.

Poised for the Future...
Concord offers the best of both worlds. It is a modern city with a small-town flavor. The region carefully balances the needs of industry in promoting economic growth with the necessity of preserving the rustic charm, which has made New England a favorite tourist getaway.

Opportunities Abound
A four-mile stretch of property along Interstate 93, nicknamed The Opportunity Corridor, is being restored by the city through a major federal grant as well as projects initiated by private investors. Aggressive plans are under way to redevelop the highly visible area from under-used properties into a thriving corridor of commerce.

A key project was the development of a hotel-conference center, the Courtyard by Marriott, at the north end of Opportunity Corridor, which features easy access to Interstates 93 and 393. Toward that end, the Capital Regional Development Council and the Greater Concord Chamber of Commerce joined forces to raise money, design and ultimately own and run the long-anticipated Visitor Center, which opened in the fall of 2000.

Other projects in the Corridor are in varying stages from study to completion, and the city's belief in the Corridor's promise has already stimulated several economic initiatives in that area. An example is the new Northeast Delta Dental building. Northeast Delta Dental, a fast-growing insurance company, opened its new $3 million, two-story office building, which houses its 110 employees, in the summer of 2000. The building is located on Fan Road near the new Courtyard by Marriott Hotel and Conference Center.

In another example, the Steenbeke family acquired a former steel manufacturing facility in the South Concord Industrial Park and redeveloped it for their retail and wholesales home supply and lumber facility. The project involved renovating two historic buildings and a substantial amount of landscaping. Another parcel in the area was also restored by the Steenbekes and redeveloped into office space.

Building on Success
Building permits issued in Concord have continued the upward rise begun in late 1994. In recent years, a number of very high profile landmark developments have been completed. The most significant major construction project recently completed was the $35 million Warren Rudman Federal Courthouse addition to the James Cleveland Federal Building, adding hundreds of jobs to the economy.

Concord Hospital completed a $14 million project adding two new medical office buildings to its campus. Concord Orthopedics completed a $3.5 million medical office building.

And there are numerous other major construction projects recently completed or currently underway throughout Concord. In addition to several new state buildings, including the $1.25 million Supreme Court building and a $1.4 million building for the Department of Revenue, home building supply giant Home Depot completed construction on a $3.25 million, 114,400-square-foot building on Loudon Road near the Steeplegate Mall. The store has brought 150 to 200 new jobs to Concord. Also, a three-story, $3.4 million, 105-room Fairfield Inn put out the welcome mat for visitors and tourists alike. Minneapolis-based discount retailer Target opened a 122,800 square foot store next to Home Depot. Wal-Mart has also unveiled an 82,000 square foot addition. The Capitol Shopping Center on Storrs Street is getting a major facelift with a new facade and the addition of a Marshall's discount store. The new facade will be reminiscent of the 19th-century train station that once graced the site.

Homes on the Rise
Area housing starts continue on an upswing after several soft years in this sector. A sign of growth is also evident in the recent completion of a $30 million addition to Concord High School, which includes a public day care facility and expansion of the regional vocational education program.

Transportation Crossroads
Potential for redeveloping and reactivating rail service, proximity to four interstate highway interchanges (I-93, I-393, I-89 and I- 293), expansion plans for the municipal airport and completion of a new multi-modal transportation center has placed Concord squarely at a desirable crossroad. A public/private partnership between Trailways and the New Hampshire Department of Transportation, the new transportation center is home to Concord Trailways and a 350-vehicle park-and-ride commuter lot.

Growth and Nature
The City actively works with industry representatives and area environmental groups to strike a balance between economic growth and ecological conservation. The Audubon Society of New Hampshire and the Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests both make their homes in Concord.

The Fast Track
Approximately $50 million was spent in Concord and the region in 1998 as a result of race fans visiting the New Hampshire International Speedway in neighboring Loudon. The 91,000-seat Speedway, the largest of its kind in New England, attracts 400,000-plus spectators during the racing season. Racing Capital, Inc., a part of The Greater Concord Chamber of Commerce, brings Speedway fans to Concord for shopping and entertainment. It also hosts Race Fever, which brings 25,000 people downtown to celebrate the Winston Cup in July.