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W W W. M A I N E B I Z . B I Z 25 A P R I L 3 , 2 0 1 7 F O C U S R E A L E S TAT E / C O N S T R U C T I O N / D E S I G N estate and an up-and-coming arts and dining scene. All that appeals to a younger demographic, putting its median age at 33.9 in the 2015 census, compared to 42.9 in Portland and 43.8 for the state. 'Biddesance' Borrowing a term coined by the Portland Phoenix newspaper, city offi cials frequently refer to the urban revival as a "Biddesance." " e Biddeford that I knew was diff erent in terms of the demographics and the industry that was here," says Mayor Alan M. Casavant. "I grew up in the '60s and '70s when it was a mill town, and so all those mills across the street [from City Hall] were fi lled with workers and there was a vibrancy in the downtown, a lot of pedestrian traffi c, all the storefronts were full … en the '80s hit and there was a change because there was a recession and then the malls developed and the interest began to move outward." Today he sees the interest returning, both from people with local roots, like a former student of his who recently left Wall Street "to catch his breath," and people from all over New England and else- where. "I taught for 35 years, you could see those bonds between families," he says. "Now what we're seeing is new people, and a lot of those new people are drivers of some of the changes that we're seeing. ey see the glass as half full, and they see opportu- nity they're seizing upon." e Mill District build-out has been good for the city, bringing in $54.4 million in private investment to date with another $77.5 million planned. Since 2008 alone, 400 jobs have been created in the Mill District, where 250 new residential units have gone up to be followed by another 230 still to be built. Blazing a trail Doug Sanford, who started buying and fi xing up buildings in Biddeford in the early 1980s, bought Pepperell in two chunks, in 2004 and 2010. Today, Pepperell Mill Campus is home to 120 businesses and 100 apartments, with more to come. "Space-wise it's probably one-third residential, two- thirds commercial — quite an interesting mix of diff erent mixed uses," says Scott Joslin, who has been with Pepperell Mill since 2008 and is chief operating offi cer. ough he fi nds the commercial side more interesting, he is surprised at its success. "We fi gured, you build apartments, you can rent apartments, it's old hat," he says, "but we never thought that com- mercial would catch on like it has." e 16-acre site is made up of 16 brick build- ings that feel like a city-within-a-city — without setting a foot outdoors, residents could easily walk from a modern loft apartment overlooking the Saco River falls to the ink Tank co-working space to Portland Pie Co. for a meal. Most buildings are connected by bridges, formerly to allow fork truck traffi c to move goods to diff erent processing areas — now they're pedestrian bridges for "great connec- tions to all the mixed uses on campus," Joslin says. But Pepperell is still a work in progress, with a target fi nish date of 2021. About 750,000 square feet have been developed, with 350,000 square feet remaining to be built out as per a city-approved master plan for C O N T I N U E D O N F O L L OW I N G PA G E »

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