Progressive Asset Management likes its new digs in Newmarket Mills

Recognizing a similar “green” approach to sustainability, Progressive Asset Management Group — a leader in socially responsible investing — has moved to Newmarket Mills, a former mill that developer Eric Chinburg is recycling into 50,000 square feet of commercial space and 112 apartments.

Business partners Michael Smith and Hunter Brownlie have operated Progressive Asset Management Group — or PAM Group — in Newmarket Mills since March 1^st of this year. They previously worked out of an old farmhouse that had been converted into office space where they conducted several sustainability practices, before Brownlie, a Newmarket resident, had heard that a crumbling local mill was being renovated.

PAM Group talked to Great Mills Management, Newmarket Mills’ property management company, about what kind of tenant it would be looking for, and Great Mills Management liked what it heard.

At the forefront of companies in the SRI sector, PAM Group, the socially responsible division of Financial West Group, member FINRA/SIPC, provides a full range of socially and environmentally sustainable investment strategies and offerings, including stocks, bonds, mutual funds, portfolio management, private placement options, retirement planning, education funding, and more.

And Smith and Brownlie liked what they saw in the mill, a mix of apartments and businesses — though when they saw the proposed space on the fourth floor everything was gutted, a work in progress during the construction phase.

Chinburg has a “very sustainable approach to renovating the mill,” Smith says. “There is little waste in the renovation process, where exposed timber and brick are maintained. Also, for example, Chinburg uses low-VOC paints. Overall, they seemed to be taking a very green approach to renovating the mills. It dovetails well with our mission as a business and with our and our clients’ interests in being environmentally responsible. It fit well with us and with what our business is about.”

So far, PAM Group shares the fourth floor with one other business in its wing of Newmarket Mills with room for four more businesses up there. And it’s a big change from a country setting in an old farmhouse to a downtown urban space. But Smith points to aspects of the Newmarket Mills project that PAM Group didn’t enjoy in its Newfields farmhouse: community space, art space, a gym for businesses and residential tenants, kayak launches along the Lamprey River, along with proposed benches and picnic areas.

“It’s worked out well,” Smith says about the move to the new office. “It’s a very nice space. We like it a lot. We have a very nice view of the Lamprey River and overall we’re very happy we made the move.”

Both Progressive Asset Management Group and the developers of Newmarket Mills, Chinburg Builders, are business partners of Green Alliance, a local green business union that certifies its member businesses green and advocates greener choices to the public.

For more information, contact Mike Smith at msmith@fwg.com or 603-418-8662.  Mike Smith is a registered representative offering securities through Financial West Group (FWG), member FINRA/SIPC. The Progressive Asset Management Group is the socially responsible investment division of FWG. Progressive Asset Management Inc. (PAMI) and FWG are affiliated entities. Or visit Progressive Asset Management at www.progressiveassetmanagement.com

For more information about Newmarket Mills, visit www.newmarketmills.com . And for more information about Green Alliance, visit www.greenalliance.biz .