It has been nearly 20 years since then U.S. Senator Judd Gregg of New Hampshire championed the prospect of the city of Portsmouth acquiring the James J. McIntyre federal building for free. He also spoke to the press at the time with the hope that the city residents would decide what to do with it. Various city councils decided that the project should be shared with a private partner. They ultimately chose Redgate Kane, a company which has considerable experience developing properties in the city. Now, the process of delineating that partnership has so far become opaque in the view of some residents. I talked to some of them, and I also spoke to a resident of some 40 years who has followed the process in a bid to shed more light on how it would work. Resident Gerald Duffy told podcast producer Roger Wood that he would like to see something finally happen on the 2.1 acre piece of downtown real estate. On the other hand, former city businessman Bill Hamilton, current city businessman Bill Downey and Peter Whelan have a lot of questions about this project, and its potential cost to the taxpayers of the city.
Bill Hamilton has owned a business in downtown Portsmouth for the past 42 years. A graduate of Tufts University, he has served on many local boards, including planning board, board of appeals, comprehensive plan committee and was founder and president of a local land trust.
Gerald Duffy lives in Portsmouth with his wife Effie. They have two grown children, one living in Norway, the other in the United Kingdom. He worked as a freelance journalist. He subsequently spent most of his career working as a technical writer and editor in the software industry.
Bill Downey is a long time resident, 25 years on Bow St., Small Business Owner, Co-founder of Revisit McIntyre. Peter Whelan is president of President at Shoals Fly Fishing.
Roger Wood is an award winning radio, podcast, newspaper and television journalist, with over 40 years of experience in the media. Roger has spent his entire professional career in New Hampshire. Roger currently serves as associate publisher and podcast producer at InDepthNH.org. In 2021 and 2022, he was recognized by the New Hampshire Press Association for his work in news podcasts. Prior to that he was honored for his work in broadcast radio news and public affairs. He has produced news and special feature reports for InDepthNH,
New Hampshire Public Radio, NPR, and other public and commercial radio stations. He also produced spot news for CBS Radio. He has produced and narrated some 50 audiobooks and has written three novels. Roger has also moderated political forums for Seacoast Area Chambers of Commerce in Senate, gubernatorial and congressional races. He has also facilitated public policy discussions locally and statewide. He has three adult children and four grandchildren. Roger and his wife Elaine, reside in Portsmouth with their cat Sebastian.