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W W W. M A I N E B I Z . B I Z 21 J U N E 1 4 , 2 0 2 1 F O C U S L E W I S T O N / A U B U R N / W E S T E R N M A I N E downtown, and estimates that there's still around 1.2 million square feet of available vacant mill space to fill. By his count, that includes around 480,000 square feet in the Continental Mill and 140,000 in the Hill Mill, purchased by Newmarket, N.H.-based Chinburg Properties in 2019 and 2020, respectively; and 260,000 in the Bates Mill Complex developed by Tom Platz on the western side of Lewiston's main canal. While public and private money has flowed into redevelopment of the eight- building complex over the last two decades, interest in the rest of Riverside Island is of more recent vintage. at has city officials excited, two decades after the master plan drawn up by Boston-based architectural firm Goody Clancy laid out a vision for an urban, recreation-oriented destina- tion that Jeffers says created a tem- plate for how other real estate in the area can be used. He estimates that 35% of the plan has been completed with another 35% underway but still a lot of work ahead. Pleased with the pace of progress, Jeffers says, "Portland has sucked all the air away for a long time. Now people are discovering that it's more affordable to live here compared to Portland, and there are some really nice new apartments that are being created in historic buildings." e need for more housing is prompted by a booming, diverse economy in Lewiston, where more than 22,000 people work for local firms. Large employers include Central Maine Healthcare and St. Mary's Regional Medical Center, pro- motional products distributor Geiger, and Walmart, which has a large distri- bution center in Lewiston and a retail presence in Auburn. Grand Rounds, a San Francisco- based digital health startup that established a presence in Lewiston in 2016, is also up to 250 employees and 46,900 square feet at the Bates Mill Complex, with plans for further expansion. "In coming to Lewiston, I wanted to make sure we were entering an area that had the talent to support the kinds of jobs we were going to be hiring for," says Danielle Snow, the company's interim COO and chief of staff who runs the Lewiston operations in the town she grew up in. "Once you have the talent, you need to make sure they have an affordable and quality place to live… It's nice to see investments happening that will enable that." 'Robust market' Inside the Bates Mill Complex, Tom Platz says that while most of the 260,000 square feet of empty space would be suited to residential development, it is quickly filling in with office and commer- cial users. He also says he's not lost any tenants because of the pandemic. As Platz actively seeks tenants for Mill No. 5, he's branching out into residential development at 35 Beech St., with plans for market-rate housing in a 50,000-square foot mill building he recently acquired. "I see residential development con- tinuing to grow in the L/A area," he says. "Rising prices south of us are creating a robust market." Another developer adding to the robustness is the Portland-based Szanton Co., which entered the Lewiston market in 2012 with the Loft at Bates Mill, featuring 48 apartments in Bates Mill No. 2. Completed in 2012, it was the first apartment building built in Lewiston's historic mill district. More recently in 2019, Szanton built the Hartley Block, a 63-unit apartment building on an empty lot on Lisbon Street and named for local artist Marsden Hartley, whose studio had stood on the site. While that was a new construction, its next project — currently undercontract, C O N T I N U E D O N F O L L OW I N G PA G E » P H O T O / T I M G R E E N WAY LEWISTON BY THE NUMBERS S O U R C E : Census data cited in Comprehensive Plan; Lincoln Jeffers, Lewiston's director of economic and community development Lincoln Jeffers, Lewiston's economic and community development director, stands on Mill Street near Cross Canal No. 1 and Bates Mill No. 5 and Baxter Brewing Co. in Lewiston. Residents (2019 estimated) Employees working for Lewiston- based companies Private development money invested in mills since 2001-02 All private development money invested since 2001-02 Public investment in parks and parking since 2001-02 36,225 22,710 $45 million $60 million $14 million

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