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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 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 F O C U S "It's been a pleasant experience," he says. "When we met with the city council for approvals, they were great to deal with." Coming to fruition When Wheelock took on the park's marketing, there were 12 lots available. Now there are three lots and one of those is set to go under contract. "e biggest thing the park has going for it is being close to 295 and 95, especially for these compa- nies that are trucking all kinds of goods," he says. "at's really made a difference." e park is part of a tax increment financing district, and most buyers have taken advantage of the tax break, says Wheelock. "We were also really aggressive with the pricing of the lots in order to be super competitive," he says. "When you can buy a lot for $50,000 and it already has city sewer, water and elec- tricity and paved roads that the city plows, we're comparable to the price of raw land and having to add all that to your costs." Originally, says Desjardins, the question was, "If we build this park, are they going to come?" e answer? "It was a slow start, and I think now the city is starting to see things come to fruition as far as the hard work they and their partners put into building this park," she says. "at's huge." Gardiner is now seeing spin-off benefits. "We're seeing people who work at the park coming into the downtown, spending money," she says. "e close proximity to the highway makes it enticing for people wanting to be in the park. People want to come and locate here, not only to work here but also to live here." e city is also happy to see com- panies coming from out-of-state, she says. "And they have workers who might be relocating to the area," she notes. "ere's definitely a mix." What makes out-of-state companies bite? "ey always say, 'Location, loca- tion, location,'" Desjardins says. "Folks I speak with say they want that presence in the Northeast." Says Prescott, "e park gives every- one the room they need and it's a beauti- ful location." Laurie Schreiber, Mainebiz senior writer, can be reached at lschreiber @ mainebiz.biz » C O N T I N U E D F RO M P R E V I O U S PA G E Thank you to the sponsors who helped to make this conference a success. Media sponsor: Purchase a group subscription for your team or entire organization. Get access to Mainebiz for your entire team EMAIL CIRCULATION@MAINEBIZ.BIZ FOR MORE INFORMATION P H O T O / T I M G R E E N WAY The new PODS building at the 95/295 Business Park. People want to come and locate here, not only to work here but also to live here. — Tracey Desjardins City of Gardiner

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