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V O L . X X V I I I N O. I JA N UA R Y 1 0 , 2 0 2 2 16 2 0 2 2 E C O N O M I C O U T L O O K Looking to 2022, Stone sees trouble if we don't rise to the challenges. ere are concrete, well-documented obstacles like the supply chain disrup- tions and the labor shortage. "We may see inflation reminiscent of the early 1980s, in the range of 8% to 12%," he says. ere are also, he says, cloudier, harder-to-define challenges like pan- demic anxiety, exhaustion and worker dissatisfaction — factors that have contributed to the so-called Great Resignation. Stone predicts workers at all levels will continue to seek out "more fulfilling jobs." Stone cites three negative forces at play in 2022: COVID-19; political challenges with global instability; and the effects of climate change, including drought, natural disasters and famine. "In short," he says, there's "a lot of chaos and uncertainty." Yet, even with the chaos, he sees opportunity if we're willing to work for it. "We need more creative and out-of- the-box thinking and greater sacrifices among everyone," he says. "Positive stories will emerge among those 'heroes' who are willing to sacrifice and take bold risks to fix the mess we're in. e nature of how we work will continue to change, real estate prices are going to fall but less so in Maine. We will endure and we will come out stronger." C L I M AT E C H A N G E Acadia's record visitation in 2021 likely to be matched in 2022 B y L a u r i e S c h r e i b e r B y the end of November, Acadia National Park had received over 4 million visitors, a record number likely driven by a surging interest in outdoor activity during the pandemic. "It was an unprecedented year for visitation," said the park's superinten- dent, Kevin Schneider. "It topped the previous record, which was 2018." Increasing visitor numbers and cli- mate change are the park's two primary challenges as it looks to the future. "I used to frame climate change as being the greatest long-term threat to Acadia and congestion being the big- gest short-term challenge," he said. "But increasingly, I see climate change as a challenge we are facing now." A major storm in June dumped 5 inches of rain in just a couple of hours, wiping out sections of the park's car- riage road system and a picturesque trail called Maple Spring. "at kind of rain event was unprec- edented in the park's history," said Schneider. "It's the kind of symptom we're seeing in a rapidly changing cli- mate now. Responding to that is increas- ingly a challenge for us." In response, the park is employing a framework response called RAD, for "resist, accept or direct." At Maple Spring, for example, the park is con- sidering whether to rebuild, discon- tinue the trail, or move it. "With these kind of storm events, is it sustainable to maintain the trail as we had before?" he said. "at's a small example of how we're starting to think about these challenges." As part of a suite of measures to address congestion, the park instituted a vehicle reservation system in 2021 at one of its most popular spots, Cadillac Mountain. "We had a very successful reservation system last summer," Schneider said. "We'll continue that in 2022, with some back-of-the-house tweaks" such as sell- ing tickets in person to support visitors who don't have digital devices. "I think visitation will remain strong," Schneider said of the coming year. "I wouldn't be surprised to see it plus or minus 5% to 10% what it was in 2021. But even minus 10%, it would still be one of our busiest seasons." C O M M E R C I A L R E A L E S TAT E Even with remote work, Bangor's office space in short supply B y L a u r i e S c h r e i b e r I n Greater Bangor, offices are full and businesses are doing well. "Everyone thinks that offices are emptying out, that we have lot of vacant space and that businesses are closing," says Bev Uhlenhake, a broker with Epstein Commercial Real Estate in Bangor and a former mayor of neighboring Brewer. "at's not true. In fact, we don't have enough vacancy and prices are starting to rise." e same is true in the industrial and housing sectors. "at leads to the next trend," she says. "We're seeing renovations and also new construction." At the same time, Bangor is experi- encing the same difficulties seen in other regions, including high construction costs and a supply chain crunch that's extending construction timelines by months. But Bangor is seeing an impact that may be greater than other regions. "Bangor developers don't overbuild in boom times, so we don't have an over- abundance of vacancy in hard times," she says. "Our roller coaster never runs as erratically as other regions. at's good in down times because we don't hurt as much. But in good times, when busi- nesses want to expand, we don't have as many places for them to go." e tight market does have a posi- tive message, though. ere's a lot of interest from businesses looking to expand or relocate in the area. "Most of it is small business looking to grow bit by bit," she says. "at's the best thing for us. When they do better, that helps everyone. ey employ more people. And if you multiply that over all of the businesses, we actually have a sig- nificant amount of growth. But people don't recognize that, because it's not one big project." Issues facing the region include shortages of materials, housing and employees. e opioid crisis and broadband access are also major con- cerns, she says. » C O N T I N U E D F RO M P R E V I O U S PA G E We need more creative and out-of-the-box thinking and greater sacrifices among everyone. — David Stone Forager David Douglas Stone, founder and CEO of the startup Forager, which helps supermarkets and other buyers source local products. F I L E P H O T O / T I M G R E E N WAY F O C U S Acadia National Park Superintendent Kevin Schneider PH OTO / NATI ONAL PAR K S ERVI C E, FR I ENDS OF AC ADI A, AS H LEY C ONTI Bev Uhlenhake, a broker with Epstein Commercial Real Estate in Bangor and a former mayor of neighboring Brewer, sees positive, stable, incremental growth in the region. P H O T O / C O U R T E S Y O F E P S T E I N C O M M E R C I A L R E A L E S TAT E

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