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V O L . X X I N O. X X S E P T E M B E R 7 , 2 0 1 5 18 Andrea Burns, president of Norway Downtown, a nonprofi t community group working to revitalize Norway, adds that one of the larger projects underway is a new outpatient clinic that she says could bring 800 people into the area for services. Western Maine Health Care Corp., a Norway- based MaineHealth affi liate, said last fall that its $10 million expansion is part of its push to increase outpatient care services. Plans call for constructing an $8.2 million, 25,000-square-foot building on Pikes Hill Road where doctors' offi ces from other locations will merge. Western Maine Health is expected to break ground on the project next spring. Meantime, Burns and others are looking to more rehabilitation projects, like the second fl oor of the Norway Opera House. e fi rst fl oor of the former entertainment center now houses new businesses includ- ing leather store Rough & Tumble, yarn and wine shop Fiber & Vine and gem store e Raven Collections. Upstairs, however, it remains empty, as do many second fl oors of downtown Maine stores. A fundraiser to renovate the Opera House's second fl oor was well on the way to its $9,000 goal following a dance and music festival in late August in the streets of Norway. Second fl oors have been the bane of small down- towns. But Scott Berk, owner of Cafe Nomad and part owner of Fiber & Vine, fi xed up two apartments above his cafe, and once the current tenants move out he says he may turn the spaces into Airbnb rooms. Berk, who still works as a graphics litigation consultant, says he wanted to run a cafe since college as well as renovate a building, and Maine was an aff ordable location. " e cost of failure isn't nearly as high," he says of Maine after moving here from Boston. "I found this cute, very dilapidated building on Main Street. He opened the café in August 2007 and revenue has grown 15% annually every year since. "If you create a nice space in what was an empty storefront, people will want to come there," he says. "In the last year-and-a-half I'm seeing people walk- ing up the street with shopping bags in their hands." Maine Preservation, a nonprofi t, statewide historic preservation group, said in August that it would assist in the transition and sale of three historic downtown buildings, including L.M. Longley & Son on Main Street, a hardware store that is now for sale as its owner wants to retire, and the 100 Aker Wood Frame Shop at 413 Main St. Nancy Smith, executive director of GrowSmart Maine in Portland, says the passage of LD 1372 in the last session of the Legislature was a clear win for the redevelopment of upper fl oors in Maine downtowns. " e bill incorporates language around considering the barriers to redevelopment of upper fl oors into municipal comprehensive plans," she notes. Gardiner Kennebec County | Founded 1754 Persons aged 65+: 14.4% Persons under 18: 21.7% Land area: 15.85 square miles Per capita income: $24,243 (2013 est.) Budget (FY2016): $9.5M (passed) Known for: Historic buildings S O U R C E : U.S. Census, towns, cities, state. Figures from 2010 unless otherwise noted. Unlike Norway, which gained population in the 2000 and 2010 U.S. Census fi gures, Gardiner's population has been on the decline, and that's something the town wants to rectify. "It is a concern," says Patrick Wright, director of Gardiner Main Street and economic development coordinator for the city of Gardiner. "You need people for downtown economic development. We believe a vibrant community will stem that loss." He and other economic development offi cials have worked hard to attract businesses, especially chains with successful track records like Frosty's Donuts, a Brunswick-based chain that opened its fourth location » C O N T I N U E D F RO M P R E V I O U S PA G E If you create a nice space in what If you create a nice space in what If you create a nice space in what If you create a nice space in what If you create a nice space in what If you create a nice space in what If you create a nice space in what If you create a nice space in what If you create a nice space in what If you create a nice space in what If you create a nice space in what If you create a nice space in what If you create a nice space in what If you create a nice space in what was an empty storefront, people was an empty storefront, people was an empty storefront, people was an empty storefront, people was an empty storefront, people was an empty storefront, people was an empty storefront, people was an empty storefront, people was an empty storefront, people was an empty storefront, people was an empty storefront, people was an empty storefront, people was an empty storefront, people will want to come there. In the last year-and-a-half I'm seeing people walking up the street with shopping bags in their hands. — Scott Berk, Norway business owner

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