Mainebiz

V O L . X X I X N O. X V J U LY 1 0 , 2 0 2 3 20 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 or decades, downtown Waterville was in the shadow of the two vacant Lockwood Mill buildings, which have been vacant for several years. But in recent years, with more than $200 million in combined investment from Colby College, investors and small businesses, with help from tax incentives, the downtown is undergoing a major transformation. "Our collaboration with the city of Waterville is breathing new life into Main Street and shaping the city's future," says Brian Clark, vice presi- dent of planning at Colby College. "It's been an exceptional partnership and we're looking forward to con- tinuing to work with the city, civic and business leaders, and the greater community to build on this successful momentum and attract more invest- ments that will position Waterville as a place where people want to live, work and visit." In recent years, Colby has invested heavily in the downtown, including the 100,000-square-foot Alfond Commons mixed-use building, buying and reno- vating several other buildings and open- ing the Lockwood Hotel. e Lockwood Hotel, with 53 guest rooms and a restaurant known as Front & Main, opened to guests in August 2022. e $26 million hotel was devel- oped by Colby College and is being managed by Charlestowne Hotels, which oversees more than 50 hotels. e hotel is downtown Waterville's first new hotel in over a century — and builds on the recent development. Another part of the revitaliza- tion project is the Paul J. Schupf Art Center, an $18 million project that opened in December 2022. Even Lockwood Mills is undergo- ing changes. In 2019 the last portions of the mills were bought by North River Co., shortly after it bought the first building within the Lockwood mill complex, which is known as the Hathaway Creative Center, for $20.1 million in 2017. At that time, the acquisition of Hathaway Creative Center, which is a histori- cally revitalized 236,000-square-foot waterfront mixed-use facility, was the fourth-largest commercial property sale in 2017. F O C U S This is the proposed rendering for the Head of Falls Village project which is expected to be a downtown village with 63 mixed-use apartments. R E N D E R I N G S / C O U R T E S Y O F C E N T R A L M A I N E G ROW T H C O U N C I L Admittedly, our redevelopment plan is very ambitious. But it directly responds to what people have been advocating for in Waterville for decades; downtown revitalization, mixed-use development, high-quality housing choices, vibrant public spaces, and re-establishing a strong link between the downtown and Head of Falls — where this city really all began. — Todd Alexander Renewal Housing Associates LLC REBIRTH With several projects underway, the downtown is changing B y A l e x i s W e l l s Waterville's

• Cover