Mainebiz

V O L . X X V N O. X I V J U LY 8 , 2 0 1 9 22 A U G U S TA / WAT E R V I L L E / C E N T R A L M A I N E banks. e dirtier it became, only those guiding the log drives that clogged it every summer ventured in. ere were few fish or other river habitat. Few boated on it. No one swam in it. at began to change in 1972 with the Clean Water Act, which was championed by U.S. Sen. Ed Muskie, who grew up in Rumford on the Andrsocoggin. e last Kennebec log drive was in 1976, and there were new regulations for river valley municipalities and businesses. In 1999 Augusta's Edwards Dam, which since 1837 had prevented fish from traveling upriver, was removed. It was hailed not only as an environmental necessity, but an economic one. Today, the river is "critically important" to eco- nomic development, says Garvan Donegan, execu- tive director of the Central Maine Growth Council. e impact is different on a case-by-case basis, but substantial. "I've seen it with the Lockwood development, and in a very concrete way with the Riverwalk," he says. Waterville's RiverWalk, on a lot that's been vacant for 50 years, was developed over the past two years as a spark to further development of the 20-acre site. e city added utilities infrastructure over the years, but when requests for proposals went out, developers didn't bite. ere was a different response when requests for proposals for a mixed-use building went out this spring. e city is considering several bids, Donegan says. More rural communities along the river are also considering ways to take advantage of it. In Fairfield, they're discussing the possibility of housing in the pastoral Hinckley section of town, and other towns are discussing looking at aquaculture development, Donegan says. e recreational activity associated with the river, including trails, fishing, boating and more, adds value to development and commerce. "Combined with the historic downtowns along the river, it taps into the place-based economy," he says. He says it's a brand identity the region is learning to embrace. Slow and steady ere are still major sites that have yet to be developed. "We turned our backs on the river for 200 years," Luke, of Augusta, says. "It takes time to turn that around." e historic Kennebec Arsenal, vacant for years, was bought by North Carolina developer Tom Niemann in 2007, but the recession hit, and plans for a mixed-use development haven't materialized. A mile upriver, the former Statler Tissue site, now Kennebec Locke, has the foundation for development, but the city has yet to get any interest. Development along the river is "slow and steady," says Chris Paszyc, a broker with e Boulos Co. "I would not say it's a gold rush." River development has caught on in downtowns faster than in rural areas. "e baby boomers and millennials are gravitating to the urban centers, there's more demand for eateries, and establishments that support their lifestyles," Paszyc says. e river, too, can still be barrier to development. "One of the issues that developers have to grapple with is being in close proximity to the river presents challenges," including flood plain issues and difficulties of renovating old or historic properties, he says. Paszyc also says municipalities should be proactive. "e key with redevelopment on the river is getting the zoning and infrastructure in place, so a developer doesn't have to start from scratch," he says. 'Opportunities we can't even imagine' Luke says development will come to the Kennebec Locke site, which is in a residential area, across the river from downtown. e city acquired the site in 2011, razed the buildings and cleaned up toxins left over from more than a century of making paper. e 29-unit Maple Street apartments, built by the Augusta Housing Authority on the site, is almost fin- ished. "at's a significant project," Luke says. Initial concerns from area residents about traffic and congestion helped the city learn how to approach development for the rest of the 17-acre site, which has been targeted for office or other nonresidential uses. at development won't be in the immediate future. Luke says high construction costs are one barrier to development, something that's not unique to Kennebec Locke. e city is working on it, and he believes issues will work themselves out, because the site is attractive. "e river is a tremendous asset to that location," he says. "Opportunities we can't even imagine now will manifest." Turning around Front Street, which runs behind Augusta's downtown along the river, used to be a gritty parking lot with the unadorned backs of downtowns building looming over it. No one spent much time there. On a recent sunny day, a kayaker paddled aside a fam- ily of ducks. Nearby, a crew on a speedboat cheered as a sturgeon sprang from the water, did a twist, then disap- peared back under the blue surface. Across the river, at the East Side Boat Landing, half a dozen people fished. A group sipping drinks from the terrace of a Water Street apartment, which overlooks a park-like Front Street with grass, trees and a walking path, took in the scene. Developers and planners frequently use the phrase "we turned our backs on the river." Now, they say, that's changing. Luke, an amateur photographer, has half a dozen photos he's taken of sturgeon leaping from the water. He says he took the best one while enjoying a beer at Cushnoc Brewing's riverfront tables. Upriver, RiverWalk, Donegan says, is a metaphor for what's happened along the Kennebec. "It was a former mill site, then a brownfield," he says. "Now people realize it's a great place." People in his office head to the river to fish at lunchtime. "ey're pulling fish, the sturgeon are jumping, the bald eagles are flying overhead," he says. "As a place-based economy, with the waterfront being a catalyst, it's a really wonderful model." M a u r e e n M i l l i k e n , M a i n e b i z s e n i o r w r i t e r, c a n b e r e a c h e d a t m m i l l i k e n @ m a i n e b i z . b i z » C O N T I N U E D F RO M P R E V I O U S PA G E F O C U S P H O T O / F R E D F I E L D Fishing and recreation on the Kennebec River were unheard of just a few decades ago. We turned our backs on the river for 200 years. It takes time to turn that around. — Keith Luke Augusta deputy development director

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