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V O L . X X V I I I N O. X I V J U LY 1 1 , 2 0 2 2 18 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 I n the early 2000s, Everett J. Prescott Inc. was looking for potential loca- tions for its expansion. e company's second-generation owner and president, Peter Prescott, learned the city was considering estab- lishing a business park at a spot called Libby Hill, south of the downtown. Prescott agreed to buy the first lot at what was originally called the Libby Hill Business Park and is today called the Gardiner 95/295 Business Park. In 2004, the expanding company built its 58,000-square-foot headquarters building there, just minutes from the vital interstate highway link to its grow- ing service area. e company, founded in 1955 in Gardiner, offers water-main tapping and underground boring, work- ing with a range of clients. e compa- ny's operations have been growing, and the business park fit its needs. "It's a nice area, plus we needed the room," says Prescott. "We'd been in downtown Gardiner 50 years. So when I heard about this, we decided to move out here. It's worked out very well for us." Last year, Everett J. Prescott expanded its facility as it doubled the size of its operation and added terri- tories. Today, it has 85 employees at its headquarters and, with 30 sites in New England, New York, Indiana and Ohio, it has 400 total. In addition to the space to expand his headquarters, Prescott says, he was attracted to the perks the city built in, in its quest to attract business — affordable shovel-ready lots with public infrastruc- ture already in place. Plus, the park sits just off Exit 49 of I-295 and Route 201, making it a key location for distribution. "We were lucky to get the chance to be one of the first ones to come here," says Prescott. "And then others followed." Long time coming It took a while to reach the park's full potential. "is project was a long time com- ing for the city," says Tracey Desjardins, Gardiner's director of economic devel- opment and planning. e park is viewed as a central location in a business-friendly city. Its construction began in 2000 with Phase P H O T O / T I M G R E E N WAY GARDINER 95/295 BUSINESS PARK Peter Prescott, right, president and second generation owner of Everett J. Prescott Inc., bought one of the first lots in the Gardiner 95/295 Business Park. Dennis Wheelock of KW Commercial/ Magnusson Balfour says the park's strategic location is a selling point. F O C U S C O N T I N U E D O N PA G E 2 0 » It's worked out very well for us. — Peter Prescott Everett J. Prescott Inc. Hoping to attract business, this central Maine city built a park — and they came B y L a u r i e S c h r e i b e r

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