Mainebiz

V O L . X X I N O. X X S E P T E M B E R 7 , 2 0 1 5 16 T he lights dimmed across many formerly thriv- ing downtowns in the 1970s, an era known internationally for its economic upheavals and a time when city dwellers fl ed to the space and greenery of the suburbs on new superhighways near proliferating big box stores. is "hollowing out" phenomenon referred as much to the lost sense of community as to the lack of people strolling down sidewalks with shopping bags. Stores closed, empty buildings decayed and many downtowns became mere thoroughfares rather than destinations. e trend is starting to reverse, buoyed by local, state and federal programs off ering know-how and help- ing with private and public fund-raising to restore or repurpose empty or neglected buildings. In places like Norway, Gardiner and Waterville, many of those build- ings are historic and could be tourist attractions. "It's a response to the 1970s sprawl that drove things to the suburbs," says Jennifer Olsen, executive director of Waterville Main Street, a program that sprung from the National Main Street Center, a subsidiary of the National Trust for Historic Preservation. In Maine, it runs under the Maine Development Foundation. Olsen also has worked on redevelopment projects in Millinocket and Skowhegan. e revitalization movement runs across all economic classes and ages. It aims to attract retirees into towns, to keep young people from leaving and to bring people Mainers who moved away. One of the more pervasive movements is the National Main Street Center, which started in 1980. Its organizing framework is used in more than 2,200 com- munities in 44 states. ere are 10 Main Street Maine communities, each registered as a 501(c)(3) nonprofi t and with a paid offi cer like Olsen. ere also are affi li- ate or "network" members without full-time staff . e Main Street plan has four approaches: organi- zation, promotion, design and economic restructuring. at includes adding attractive street signs and holding events, like the Swine & Stein Oktoberfest in Gardiner, explains Lorain Francis, senior program director and state coordinator for the National Main Street Center. " at festival gets people into the community," she says. "It's a measure of economic development." She adds that in 2016 the Main Street movement will start to measure and track economic development such as the total amount of physical structures that were improved and the net gain in jobs. Mainebiz recently visited three towns in the midst of redevelopment — Norway, Gardiner and Waterville — to explore their revitalization eff orts. Gardiner and Waterville are Main Street Maine communities and Norway is in the network. P H O T O / T I M G R E E N WAY Going Downtown Redevelopment projects aim to put the 'cool' back into Maine's downtowns B y L o r i V a l i g r a 1970 2000 2010 Percent change 2000–2010 Norway 3,595 4,611 5,014 8.74% Waterville 18,192 15,605 15,722 0.75% Gardiner 6,685 6,198 5,800 −6.42% Maine 992,048 1,274,923 1,328,361 4.19% Maine population changes S O U R C E : U.S. Census, towns, cities, state Charles Melhus and Erika Melhus outside Norway Brewing Co. They are standing in an area they hope will be an outside beer garden by next summer.

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