Business Leader of the Year: Steve Duprey

By Matthew J. Mowry

A native son of NH, Steve Duprey grew up in NH’s North Country, where his parents shapedhisdevotiontocommunity.“Mymotherandfather[asurgeon]weremyoriginal rolemodels,”Dupreysays.“Fromaveryearlyage,mymotheranddadinstilledvaluesin me ’you have been given so much more than so many kids in the world, you have an obligationtogiveback.’”

Hehasnevergivenuponfulfillingthatobligation.

DupreyhasbuiltadevelopmentandhospitalityempirethroughtheDupreyCompanies, which includes four hotels, the Grappone Conference Center, Foxfire Property ManagementandFacilitechFacilitiesServices.

For more than two decades, Duprey has been a prolific developer, revitalizing old buildings into vibrant parts of Concord’s community, including the Love Building that is home to Gibson’s Bookstore and the Smile! Building that houses the Greater Concord Chamber of Commerce and the League of NH Craftsmen When Duprey learned the League was considering moving from Concord, he developed a proposal to re-house it inhisnewSMILE!building.Dupreydonatedoverahalfmilliondollarsoftaxcreditsaswell as $225,000 in cash to the project and funded a professional fundraising study for the League’scapitalcampaign.HeevenpreparedtheapplicationtotheCDFAthatsecured $1.1millionintaxcredits.

Duprey played a critical role in creating the legislation that established the NH Community DevelopmentFinanceAuthority(CDFA) taxcreditprogram,ofwhichheserved asafoundingboardmember.

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“StevewasthecatalystfortheredevelopmentofHorseshoePond.Thisgatewayproperty was transformed from an abandoned and burned-out lumber mill wasteland to a firstclass office park, hotel and conference center,” says Tim Sink, president of the Greater ConcordChamberofCommerce.

Duprey was also integral to the redevelopment of Concord’s Main Street. “Steve chaired thecommitteethatheldmorethan50publichearingsontheMainStreetredevelopment project.Healsopersonallyfundedandledapublicrelationsandlobbyingcampaignto secure a highly competitive $4.5 million federal TIGER grant, which turned the project fromadreamtoareality,”Sinksays.

Duprey is breathing new life into the former Eagle Hotel while preserving the historical integrityofthebuilding ahallmarkofhisdevelopmentefforts Hislatestprojectisanew five-story building in downtown Concord that will host restaurants and retailers Last year,heboughttheformerLincolnFinancialbuildingsinConcordforredevelopment

“He has been a leader in revitalizing neighborhoods and creating new opportunities for economic growth, while also preserving the cultural heritage and character of these communities,” says James Key-Wallace, executive director of the NH Business Finance Authority.

Dupreywasafounder,directorandthesecondpresidentoftheConcordBusinessGroup, an independent group of business leaders formed to work with the city and state to makeConcordmorebusinessfriendly.

HeplayedakeyroleinsecuringfundingfortherestorationandreopeningoftheCapitol Center for the Arts and he served on the board of trustees for two terms. And when the Capitol Center was ready to expand and open a second smaller performance space, Duprey acquired the building, lent his expertise in leveraging tax credits and helped develop plans for renovating the space into what is now the Bank of NH Stage. He also served on the board of trustees of the NH Historical Society and helped to lead the fundraisingeffortstoopentheMuseumofNHHistory TheDupreyCompaniesalsomade a$100,000gifttowardestablishingRedRiverTheatresinConcord

Last year, Gov. Chris Sununu tapped Duprey to chair the Pease Development Authority. He also currently serves on the boards of the Currier Museum of Art, the NH Business FinanceAuthorityandNHCivics,whichpromotesciviceducation.

Duprey could provide a masters class in civics, having served in the NH legislature and devotedhimselftohelpingothersgetelected.At19,whileincollege,hewonaseatinthe state legislature, becoming the youngest elected official in the country, Duprey says. At one point, attorney and then House Deputy Speaker Kimon Zachos waived the young man over to ask what he intended to do with his life and convinced Duprey to apply to law school. After graduating, he worked for the law firm of Solloway and Hollis before becomingadeveloper.

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HetwiceservedaschairmanoftheNHRepublicanParty,buthasalwaysbeenwillingto reachacrosstheaisle.DupreyhasworkedwitheverygovernorsinceWalterPetersen. And while he has advised his share of presidential candidates, he struck a particularly deepfriendshipwithU.S.Sen.JohnMcCain,whowouldoftenhaveDupreyjoinhimonthe campaign trail to share some laughs as well as insights. As Duprey recalls his time with McCain, who died from a brain tumor in 2018, it is apparent the loss of his friend still weighsonhim.

Asked what lessons he learned from McCain, Duprey says, “Try to do what’s right. You won’t always succeed. You will make mistakes, sometimes big mistakes. Make amends, move on and take on the next battle. Don’t take yourself too seriously and be sure to enjoytheride.”

He knows he has not achieved success alone, crediting his employees “I am the Vanna Whiteoftheteam ThesuccessI’vehadthatgivesmetheopportunitytospendasmuch time as I do on civic efforts is because of my housekeepers, maintenance people and banquetservers Thosearethepeopleeverydaywhomakeourbusinesssuccessful,that allowsmeprivilegetobeasinvolvedasIam,andIamgrateful,”hesays.