The owner of Tenney Mountain Resort is proposing a hotel, housing, a technology village and other new development. (Photo by John Koziol)
Steven Kelly doesn’t ski much nor, until recently, did he have many ties to the town of Plymouth or Plymouth State University.
Neither of those limitations stopped Kelly from recognizing the potential of Tenney Mountain Ski Resort as a four-season destination and a springboard for economic development.
Kelly, who bought the resort three years ago in May, envisions Tenney Mountain as a center of athletic excellence, and as the northern hub of the expanding Interstate 93 high-tech corridor.
“What we’re building (in Plymouth) is commerce,” Kelly said during a March 16 interview. “An economy that doesn’t exist.”
Later this year, Kelly said he intends to publish a master plan for Tenney on its website that will focus on the years 2030, 2035 and 2040. Kelly owns Timberline Construction Corp. and Timberline Communications Inc. of Canton, Mass., and is a founding partner of New Hampshire Life Sciences, an industry trade group that was formed last year.
Plymouth Planner Joseph Perez confirmed that Kelly is working closely with the town and has made several conceptual presentations to the Planning Board, but has not yet filed a site-plan application.
Before they headed out March 16 to watch World Pro Ski Tour racing on the “Shooting Star” slope, Steven Kelly, left, and Michael van Eyck pose for a photo in the office at Tenney Mountain. Kelly is the resort’s owner and CEO; van Eyck is its president and general manager. (Photo by John Koziol)
Among other things, Kelly has discussed with the Planning Board a boutique 80-plus room hotel; four sports academies (skiing, hockey, soccer and lacrosse); hundreds of ski-out condominiums; workforce, affordable and luxury housing; a major expansion of the municipal airport to accommodate personal jets; and a technology village that would employ 1,000-plus people, many living on the Tenney Campus off New Hampshire Route 3A.
During an interview at Tenney Mountain, Kelly said he was attracted to Plymouth because it has a college, PSU, which offers multiple degrees in the sciences, and it graduates students who love the area and want to remain here.
Additionally, Kelly continued, Plymouth has a hospital, Speare Memorial; an airport; and a full array of municipal services, including a police and fire department.
He noted that Plymouth is just two hours away from high-tech centers in Boston and just an hour north of those in Manchester.
In addition to Tenney Mountain, Kelly has a new office in Merrimack, where there are 30 employees, a number that he hopes to double.
Timberline Construction specializes in building corporate, science and technology, academic, retail, residential, hospitality, health care and civic facilities.
In 2021, as reported by NH Business Review, the New England chapter of CoreNet Global, a nonprofit organization that represents executives who manage the real estate assets of large corporations, presented its Best Workplace Award to Timberline Construction for its renovation of the Stratham headquarters of the outdoor brand Timberland.
Tenney hosts World Pro Ski Tour
Over the weekend of March 14-16, Tenney celebrated its own accomplishments under Kelly, including the installation of a robust snow-making system, by hosting the World Pro Ski Tour (WPST).
After Aspen, Tenney was the second and final of the WPST’s “abbreviated” two-stop tour in North America, said Christopher Neary, CEO of the WPST.
Neary said the WPST will return to Tenney next year as it works to re-establish itself as a pre-eminent, multi-continent, dual slalom racing league.
A scene from Tenney Mountain on March 16 when the resort hosted the World Pro Ski Tour dual-slalom racing on its “Shooting Star” slope. (Courtesy Tenney Mountain/Montagne Powers)
“The World Pro Ski Tour is thrilled to be joining forces with the Tenney Mountain team to bring this exhilarating event to the East Coast,” Neary said. “This race is set to be a highlight of the season, and we can’t wait to share the excitement with fans of all ages.”
Founded in 1968, the WPST at its peak held 13 races a year around the world and it hopes to return to that level, said Neary, a native of Asbury Park, New Jersey, who, while never a ski racer, skied extensively including at Loon and Attitash.
While Tenney has a small mountain intimacy, it is by no means physically small, Neary said.
In the 1960s, Tenney rivalled Waterville Valley, he said, with Kelly adding that Tenney even had its own train bringing skiers from Boston.
The 2025 WPST stop at Tenney was simulcast to some 80 million homes by Fox Sports, said Neary, and featured 47 competitors from nine countries.
Despite rain on March 16, Neary said the conditions were “fabulous” on Tenney’s “Shooting Star” slope, a testament to Tenney and Kelly’s snow-making skills.
Michael van Eyck, who is Tenney’s president and general manager, said the big takeaway is that, “We’re bringing world-class athletes to Plymouth, New Hampshire. They are absolutely stunning athletes.”
He agreed with Neary that Tenney is more than it appears.
Twenty percent of the resort’s trails are for beginners, van Eyck said, but 40% each are intermediate and advanced.
A self-described non-skier — “I’ve skied Tenney twice since I bought it” — Kelly said he nonetheless appreciates why skiers come there.
Kelly said he has been working on a Master Plan for Tenney for more than two years and that the plan will stress the skiing experience for residents and guests and as a venue for premier competitions like those featuring the WPST.
Ultimately, he would like to develop a year-round resort as at Mount Tremblant in Canada.
The Plymouth Regional Airport on March 19. (Photo by John Koziol)
At its buildout, he sees the yet-unnamed village at Tenney employing 1,200 or more people, many drawn there by the opportunity to live, work and play in an amenity-rich environment.
He also wants the village to help keep the best and brightest minds in New Hampshire, pointing out that 60% of highschool graduates leave to go to college out of state.
“This is an opportunity to create an economy that makes central New Hampshire thrive,” Kelly said. “We’re making good progress.”
Plymouth, according to the town’s website, appears to be well positioned to accommodate Kelly’s ambitious plans: “Conveniently located near the geographic center of New Hampshire, Plymouth serves as a bridge between the Lakes Region and the White Mountains and is at the heart of the Plymouth Labor Market Area, which is home to over 30,000 people, with a civilian labor force of over 17,000.”
The town is “easy to get to, with convenient access from the north and south on I-93, Route 3, and Route 3A, as well as from the east and west on Route 25,” the website said, and in 2018, it was designated as one of New Hampshire’s 27 Opportunity Zones.
