Fosters
CONCORD — The New Hampshire Executive Council Wednesday approved the sale of the former campus of Great Bay Community College to Juliet Marine Systems, Inc. for a purchase price of $2.75 million.
Approval means the Community College System of New Hampshire (CCSNH) can move forward with the sale of the former campus, which CCSNH vacated in 2009 when it relocated Great Bay Community College to the Pease International Tradeport in Portsmouth. Wednesday’s vote follows unanimous approval from the state’s Long Range Capital Planning and Utilization Committee on April 16.
Juliet Marine Systems, Inc. (JMS) was founded in 2004 and has pioneered several highly advanced technologies that will dramatically change the marine industry’s understanding of propulsion for surface and sub-surface, manned and unmanned vessels. The JMS research and development vessel, GHOST, is a high performance craft that will revolutionize the way small boats operate on the water. JMS anticipates that as the company grows, it will provide job opportunities in many business and technical areas, and the facility will provide JMS with room to expand.
JMS and CCSNH leaders say the expansion of JMS to the Stratham site will have a significant economic impact on the state and region and will result in the creation of hundreds of jobs in New Hampshire. JMS’s plans are to establish its corporate headquarters at the Stratham facility, and to use the facility for research and development and for manufacturing. JMS anticipates it could grow its workforce by 200 people over the next two years in skilled fields such as technical assembly, engineering, customer support, corporate executives and staff. JMS and CCSNH anticipate working together to meet the company’s skilled workforce training needs.
CCSNH Chancellor Ross Gittell said, “The Community College System is excited to be working with Juliet Marine Systems to create the opportunity for this innovative company to expand its operations in New Hampshire, create jobs, expand relationships with local suppliers and support the state and local tax base. This is a win for the New Hampshire economy, and CCSNH looks forward to our continuing role in supporting the state’s innovation-based economy through education and industry partnerships.”