Bensonwood
North Branch Construction of Concord completed the renovation of a 104,000-square-foot manufacturing facility located at 25 Production Avenue in Keene, NH for the Monadnock Economic Development Corporation (MEDC). The project converted space previously occupied by medical equipment supplier Smiths Medical into a manufacturing facility for pre-fabricated homebuilder Unity Homes, a subsidiary of Bensonwood Woodworking Company of Walpole, NH. Bensonwood and Unity Homes develop affordable, high-performance, and low-energy timber frame, hybrid, and panelized homes utilizing off-site construction and on-site assembly. Funding for the development of the facility was made possible in part by a $300,000 Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) subgranted to the MEDC, who lease the property to Unity Homes. Originally founded in 1985 as the Keene Industrial Development Corporation (KIDC), the MEDC’s mission is “to lead the region in the enhancement of its industrial and business base to improve the standard of living, quality of life, and economic vitality of our communities”. The architect for this project was Catlin + Petrovick Architects located in Keene, NH.