Mainebiz

V O L . X X I V N O. X I I J U N E 1 1 , 2 0 1 8 34 B elgrade Lakes business owners Diane Oliver and Liz Fontaine were against a major upgrade to the village's Main Street when it was proposed several years ago. e village is on a narrow isthmus, squeezed between Great and Long ponds, and prolonged construction on the road, which is Route 27, would mean that summer business the town relies on would go somewhere else. ings have changed. "When you get lemons," Fontaine says. She trails off , but she doesn't have to fi nish it. Belgrade business owners and residents are making lemonade, both fi guratively and literally, as the project, which is scheduled to end sometime next year, begins. Lemonade tables on Main Street this summer as a feel-good way to let people know the village is open for business are a small part of the massive eff ort to make the project work for local commerce. In Hallowell, 18 miles south on Route 27, the situation is similar. e project to tear up and raise Water Street, the main downtown street, began April 2. "When they fi rst proposed it, busi- nesses were fi ghting it," says Lynn Irish, owner of Whippersnappers quilt shop and an at-large city councilor. " en it became inevitable." Heavy equipment and fencing line the historic half-mile downtown. One lane is open to traffi c. Pedestrians may notice brightly painted murals on the fencing — Hallowell's version of Belgrade's lemonade. In both communities, long-time resistance to disruptive road proj- ects has evolved, and they now are embracing the possibilities for long-term economic sustainability that the projects are making possible. In the short term, the small busi- nesses that make up the core of both communities are fi nding ways to make do and keep people coming. " ere was a lot of resistance for a long time," says Deb Fahy, execu- tive director of Hallowell's Harlow Gallery. "But you can't just not do something because it's inconve- nient. Hallowell's going to come out looking beautiful, and so much is changing because of it for the better. Hallowell will be more marketable at the end of this." Historic resistance e current Hallowell Water Street upgrade has been discussed for nearly two decades, but the roots of the city's resistance go back to the 1970s. In 1975, the state Department of Transportation proposed widening Water Street, which is U.S. Route 201 as well as Route 27, to four lanes, tear- ing down the buildings on one side of Caption, caption P H O T O / T I M G R E E N WAY F O C U S Deb Fahy, executive director of Hallowell's Harlow Gallery, says the reconstruction of Water Street initially faced resistance. But now the business owner is among those that say "Hallowell will be more marketable at the end of this." Summer means visitors — and construction Retailers 'making lemonade' out of disruptive road projects B Y M A U R E E N M I L L I K E N

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