By GUY C. DENECHAUD

The city of Claremont continues to be a magnet for a growing number of businesses of many types to its downtown area.

The soft commercial economy that has continued to unfold in recent months hasn’t been accompanied by much good news in many cities and towns across America, but this city of 13,000 appears to be an exception to the trend. Nancy Merrill, the city’s business development coordinator, cited evidence of that local strength.

For instance, the latest significant business development in Claremont was the August groundbreaking for a new Lowe’s store. With big box stores such as Lowe’s, a building supply retail chain, under some pressure nationally, it is significant that plans for the Claremont store have moved ahead.

The early summer opening of the Common Man Inn and Restaurant in one of the historic mill buildings seems to be helping to attract more businesses downtown and to Claremont in general. The Common Man Restaurant was attracting dinner crowds by mid-summer that Merrill said were unparalleled in her memory.

The arrival in early summer of the Red River Computer Company in the fully renovated offices on the fourth and fifth floors in the Wainshal Mill building on Water Street was a major leap forward for the city. Red River Computer, an international provider of technology solutions that until late spring had been headquartered in the River Mill Complex of Lebanon, is the type of company expected to bring technology, energy and positive attention to Claremont.

The space was fully renovated with comprehensive upgrading of all systems, and the thriving high-tech company has a home it is likely to occupy for many years. Red River Computer was a key partner in the investment for redevelopment of the Mill buildings.

It was the continued double-digit growth of Red River Computer, recognized for three consecutive years by Business NH magazine as one of the state’s top-100 private companies, which caused it to look for a location that would offer the opportunity for future expansion.

The timing of the redevelopment of Claremont’s Mill District was well suited to the company’s needs. With the meteoric rise of the reliance upon computers and information technology (IT) by nearly all segments of the business community, a large number of commercial enterprises are seeking better IT solutions.

Red River Computer has formed strategic alliances with industry leaders such as Cisco, Sun Microsystems and Dell, enabling it to offer the latest technology and most comprehensive IT solutions available

“Our new corporate headquarters is approximately 19,000 square feet in size. By designing our facility from the ground up, it gave us the opportunity to build in the state-of-the-art systems we regularly specify for our customers,” said Nick Anderle, president of Red River Computer.

“The mill environment allows us to blend an amazing aesthetic with leading-edge technologies we not only use in-house, but also can showcase for our customers and vendors,” said Anderle. “This location is unparalleled in the region and we couldn’t be happier with our experience here in Claremont.” The company’s clients and vendors, who travel distances to explore product development here, are impressed by what they find in and around the new offices in the heart of Claremont, he said.

Empty or under-utilized commercial space downtown continues to be put to new uses. The Claremont Dental Center and the new Carmella’s Restaurant are recent examples. Also this year, a new office of the nonprofit organization Bonnie CLAC opened in Claremont, as did an office for prominent Hanover-based UK Architects. TF Moran, a multi-disciplinary land planning and engineering firm, also established a presence in Sullivan County for the first time with the opening of its downtown office.

“Often when municipalities embark on revitalizing their central commercial areas, the momentum dies after a building or two has been constructed or renovated and occupied,” said Merrill. “Our hope in Claremont was that by attracting the right businesses here, the momentum would build, achieving a sort of critical mass for the crucial downtown district, and this seems to be happening here even with the current slow economy. We remain excited and optimistic as the enthusiasm and economic energy here continues to grow.”

Sherwood Moody, president and chief executive officer of Claremont Savings Bank, said he is pleased with the direction that downtown Claremont is headed.

“It is great to see the bold steps that have been discussed for the last few years not only taking physical shape, but to have these vital spaces open for business again,” said Moody.

“There is clearly momentum here, and the increased economic stimulation generated in area retail establishments by employees of the new companies operating here as they go out to dine or shop is a major help,” Moody said. “With the Common Man Inn having opened, there is appropriate lodging for businesspeople that are coming here to do business to stay while they are working in the area, not having to stay in Lebanon in order to find comfortable accommodations.”

Many historic buildings have been preserved, some with original ornate tin ceilings and wood plank floors remaining intact. An old movie theater on Pleasant Street just off Opera House Square received restorative work this year, and the downtown Odd Fellows building recently had some extensive façade restoration. Reinvestment, restoration and renovation have been spreading through the downtown area with one historic building after another getting special attention with upgraded systems for safety, energy efficiency, communications and data transfer.

The upgrades and expansions are also occurring in the human services sector. The White River Junction-based Green Mountain Children’s Center is currently working on the renovation of a building on Charlestown Road that was previously used as an office. According to Christy Loiselle, the center’s associate director, the new 2,200-square-foot space will make it possible to provide child-care services for 56 children, an increase of 10 over what was possible earlier this year.

Claremont’s regional medical center, Valley Regional Hospital, has reached the halfway point of a massive $22 million makeover. The project, which began in summer 2008, involves about 54,000 square feet of space and includes both renovations and new construction. New heating and air circulation systems will improve comfort throughout the facility and significantly increase energy efficiency. An entire new face of the south campus will include a new main entry and expanded patient service areas.

Providing health care will be more efficient when the project is completed in summer 2010. The emergency department will increase its space by 50 percent and be relocated in close proximity to ancillary services such as laboratory and medical imaging. Patients and families will also see an increase of space dedicated to meeting their needs. Patients will have private hospital rooms, each with its own private bath, and family-centered areas with kitchenettes and common areas.

“This is the most ambitious construction and modernization project in the hospital’s history,” said Claire Bowen, president and chief executive officer of Valley Regional Hospital. “Each detail of this construction project has been deliberately designed to emphasize patient -and family- centered care as well as to create greater efficiencies for our health care staff.”

Part of setting the stage for the renaissance Claremont is experiencing today has been the upgrading of the city’s infrastructure. Even during the darkest economic days for Claremont, when one industry after another closed plants here around 1980, investments into the city’s future were taking place.

The rate of sidewalk improvements and streetscapes has been ramped up since about 2000. A number of projects that have been undertaken in the last four years, some of which are continuing, have been central to sustaining the vision formed by Claremont’s leaders.

“The city has put forth a tremendous effort to improve and upgrade our existing infrastructure,” said Bruce Temple, Claremont’s public works director. “Like most New England communities, infrastructure here has a long history associated with it.”

Examples of such improvements made since 2005, said Temple, include the water treatment plant, which had a recent $3.5 million upgrade; the sewage treatment plant, which was upgraded for $2.5 million; and the stormwater system, which saw an additional $2 million invested.

The city maintains approximately 140 miles of roadway, 20 of which are gravel. Ongoing investments of $1.5 million in roadway paving, with another $500,000 in parking lot paving, has paid off with quality road surfaces.

The new pedestrian bridge that crosses the Sugar River, connecting the Mill District and adjacent downtown parking, was completed 18 months ago at a cost of $1.2 million. Expanded and paved parking areas have been completed on the side of the river adjacent to the Claremont Visitor Center.

All this investment helps to reinforce the sense of a city on the rise, and as businesses react by opening offices in the center of Claremont – with those employees patronizing local businesses – the energy and the optimism continues to build.

“We know there is still work to do in a difficult economy, but there is growing confidence as each of these projects comes to a successful conclusion that Claremont is moving in a very positive direction,” said Merrill.