The Opportunity
What we had turned out to be exactly what we wanted

There were at least a dozen times in the last 20 years when the Manchester Steam Plant could have been torn down. Developers approached PSNH with different plans to build everything from office buildings to shopping malls.
But tearing down a structure so important to the history of Manchester and the company wasn't a viable option. Instead, PSNH leaders hoped that someday the timing, economics and other critical forces would align so the building could be renovated to once again become an important contributor to PSNH and the city.

In 1998, the right forces did indeed come together. It started with the realization that the 30-year lease on PSNH's Hampshire Plaza headquarters would expire early in 2002. With PSNH headquarters located downtown since 1926, remaining in the area was imperative. It wasn't long before the old steam plant became a candidate for the new corporate headquarters.

Since its inception in 1926 PSNH's headquarters has always been in downtown Manchester. First, in the building at the corner of Lowell and Elm and then across the street in Hampshire Plaza.

Weighing the benefits:

One of the greatest advantages to using the downtown site was the adaptive re-use of an existing building. Creating a new building outside of the city would not only have contributed to urban sprawl, new urban construction would have required additional materials as well as the consumption and alteration of green space.

When it was determined that the cost of renovating the steam plant would be far less than constructing a new building, it became apparent that moving the headquarters to the steam-plant site was not only the most attractive option, it also made economic sense.