Mainebiz

W W W. M A I N E B I Z . B I Z 17 J U LY 2 7 , 2 0 1 5 M A I N S T R E E T S T A T E S T R E E T M Y R T L E S T R E E T R O B I N S O N S T R E E T P L E A S A N T S T R E E T L A U R E L S T R E E T W A T E R S T R E E T credit card company brought 1,900 jobs to Belfast, and thousands of others throughout the state. What's more, it poured money into local community groups and institutions. In 2001, MBNA became the city's biggest taxpayer when it built a call center on Rockland's Water Street that created 300 jobs and revived a key section of the waterfront. MBNA closed the call center in 2005, in the wake of the bank's acquisition by Bank of America. Boston Financial Data Services Inc. moved into the building in 2008 and created 200 jobs there and has plans to add up to 100 more positions. "Rockland has gone through a number of evolutions," says Gordon Page, executive director of Rockland Main Street Inc., a nonprofi t rep- resenting businesses, residents and government in the city's downtown. "What's been unique is its ability to evolve over time and to adjust and modify itself to fi t the needs of the community. We've continued to sur- vive in a lot of diff erent ways." As the ebb and fl ow of other industries continued, businesses related to the arts continued to fl our- ish and grow into a major piece of the economy, buoyed by the Farnsworth — its collection of 15,000 works draws 65,000 visitors per year to its Rockland campus. e museum reaches 100,000 people a year through its outreach programs. e historic Strand eatre was restored and reopend in 2005, and draws 40,000 people a year for movies, concerts and other performances. ere are two dozen galleries just on Rockland's Main Street and just as many shops. Page sees momentum continuing with the emergence of award-win- ning restaurants like Primo and Cafe Miranda. "It's just one thing after another that seems to be falling into place," he says. Audra Caler-Bell, Rockland's community development director, says she's particularly heartened that each of these projects is being driven by the organic growth of the institutions and entrepreneurs who are based here. "It's all very sustainable," she says. "It's home-grown businesses that have had a lot of success and are able to keep investing in the community." And other home-grown busi- nesses, even those not based on Main Street, expect to benefi t from the new development. C O N T I N U E D O N F O L L OW I N G PA G E » PORTLANDGLASS.COM PORTLANDGLASS.COM 5 6 M Y R T L E S T R E E T M Y R T L E S T R E E T P H O T O S / DAV E C L O U G H nhdlaw.com • Portland (207) 774-7000 • Lewiston (207) 777-5200 We're ready to get in the game. When our community needs us, we're there—as sponsors and volunteers to more than 25 area non-profi ts. WHEN YOU NEED US ON YOUR TEAM, WE'RE HERE. wo r th A r t M u s eu m W y e t h Ce n t e r e C en t e r fo r C o n te m p o r a r y Ar t 25 0 M a in Stre e t

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