Better access has contributed to a robust real estate market

As traffic has become more free-flowing along the Spaulding Turnpike corridor during the many years of its widening project, commerce has flowed more freely into the region stretching from Dover to Rochester and beyond.

Unburdened access has contributed to a robust real estate market in the region, as well as opportunities for commercial development and retail growth.

“We know that Rochester is the retail hub of Strafford County,” said Michael Scala, director of economic development for the city of Rochester, citing a recent study of commercial activity in the region. “Thirtyfive percent of all retail sales in Strafford County occur in Rochester, and we attribute a lot of that to this road system.”

In 2014, Rochester’s Economic Development Commission cited the importance of the turnpike for its economic development, saying that ”without continuing adequate funding for the Spaulding Turnpike and the regional highway system, our local investments in economic development and expectations for future economic growth may not be realized.”

Those expectations are being realized, according to Scala, thanks to a network of feeder roads that includes the Spaulding (Route 16) as well as routes 125 and 202.

“Surprisingly, most of that traffic that comes in on a daily basis is from Dover,” he said. “Whether it’s folks working here or folks shopping here or whatever, Dover is our number one feeder, followed by Somersworth and Lebanon (Maine).”

‘Proximity to arteries’

This latest turnpike project started 10 years ago with an expected 2020 completion and a cost of $287 million to widen the highway between Exit 1 in Newington and the Dover tollbooths, improve exits, and create two multi-lane Little Bay Bridges.

In late June, all the travel lanes opened, easing several bottlenecks and pinch points for traffic trying to get on and off the highway. The project created four lanes of travel over the Little Bay Bridges on the southbound side and three lanes of traffic on the northbound side. One travel lane on the northbound side is serving as a temporary bicycle/pedestrian pathway over the water where Little Bay meets the Piscataqua River.

A separate project of Spaulding Turnpike improvements specific to Rochester occurred between 2009 and 2012 between exits 11 and 16. In all, Rochester has six exits along the turnpike.

The Ridge shopping center in Rochester opened in 2016 on Route 11, just off Exit 15 on the Spaulding Turnpike. Market Basket, NH Liquor and Wine Outlet, Marshalls, Old Navy, Starbucks, Stonewall Kitchen, Petco, Famous Footwear, ULTA Beauty, and Hobby Lobby can be counted among its key tenants.

In its marketing materials, the developer, Waterstone Properties, touts the turnpike as a highlight, noting a “32% increase in traffic counts along the Spaulding Turnpike during peak travel weekends.”

“I hear from developers and manufacturers that our proximity to these arteries is very important in their developments,” Scala said. “That was one of the things that Waterstone cited when they developed the Ridge with its proximity to Route 16 right along Route 11. It’s very important.”

Not only has the access improved the opportunities for retail development, it’s helped the region’s residential real estate market.

“The changes that have occurred have contributed to the advancement in our area, causing some people to consider Strafford County as a location where they wish to reside,” said Barbara Murphy, president of the Dover-based Strafford County Board of Realtors. “We welcome and encourage the buying and selling of properties in Strafford County and easier access is always a contribution to helping that process.”

Ease of travel

The popularity of an area in terms of real estate appeal can often be seen in the median price – the price goes up as an area becomes popular with buyers.

For example, in Strafford County in May 2016 the median price of a single-family house was $231,500. Four years later in May 2020 it had risen to $284,500. The median price reached an all-time high in April 2020 of $319,000.

“As Strafford County falls right in the path of this project and many out-of-staters or people looking to relocate north use the Spaulding Turnpike, it will assist us in sales if we can bring more people to the area to search for properties in Strafford County,” said Murphy, a broker at Hourihane, Cormier & Associates in Rochester.

“Making all aspects of the property search as smooth as possible and with the least amount of external factors such as traffic and delays is most beneficial to the success of a real estate sale,” she added. “Sellers who are considering purchasing another property in Strafford County will be far more inclined to search locally if the ability to get from the Seacoast to the lakes and mountains or anywhere within that territory provides a smooth travel situation.”

Ease of north/south travel along the Dover-Somersworth-Rochester corridor is also influencing the commercial real estate market, according to David Choate, executive vice president of Colliers International in Portsmouth.

“That’s where the workers are, they’re coming down from southern Maine, from the Lakes Region. Putting your company up there makes a lot of sense,” Choate said. “I have clients who won’t consider properties south of the bridge, that far away from the workers.”

Margaret Joyce, president of the Greater Dover Chamber of Commerce, talks frequently with municipal officials and businesspeople, and she frequently hears how important access is to the region.

“When you’re locating businesses here, you want your customers to be able to get here,” she said. “If your workforce is commuting, you want them to be able to get here easily and safely.”

The highway is also important to the daytripper.

“Dover is a popular day destination for folks who are vacationing in the area,” Joyce said. “They want to take the kids to the Children’s Museum and get a bite to eat and explore what we have to offer here. So it really does help if we’re easy to get to.”

She credits the state’s forward thinking in the 10-year transportation plan that is updated each year with the infrastructure projects of maintaining and improving roads and bridges.

“It is a long process, but I think New Hampshire does a good job in making investments in the roads and it was finally our turn on the Seacoast to get those things accomplished,” she said.

While the Covid-19 pandemic remains a threat, the regional economy is re-emerging from the late winter/early spring shutdown that has kept people largely at home.

Commerce that paused is in play again, according to Scala in Rochester.

“The whole Seacoast is crazy with the amount of projects and the amount of funding that’s coming in,” said Scala, who has watched as developers have moved north from Portsmouth to Dover to now Rochester along the Route 16 corridor.

“As they develop and kind of reach their saturation point, much like Portsmouth did or with Dover development, Rochester is just on the fringes of that,” he said. “I expect in the next few years we’ll get to our saturation point and who knows where it’ll go from there.

“We really haven’t seen a decline at all. It slowed down a tad, but not gone away.”

— PAUL BRIAND/SEACOAST ONLINE