It’s been three years since the City of Biddeford agreed to purchase and close the Maine Energy Recovery Company’s waste-to-energy incinerator. While many at the time were thankful that its distinctive odor would no longer permeate the downtown area, others criticized the $6.7 million purchase, wondering how MERC’s absence would benefit the city in the long term.
Those criticisms now seem hollow, as early results indicate a boom in economic development.
Storefronts on Main Street were 30 percent vacant in 2012, but that figure has dropped to 19 percent, according to data compiled by the city. An enormous amount of private investment has flooded the heart of the city, with shops, boutiques, restaurants and other businesses either opening in Biddeford or choosing to relocate there. And the mill district has been revitalized: with just over half of that area’s square footage left empty last year, the city projects that vacancy will be down to 28 percent by 2017.
That’s largely because of more than $77 million in approved projects in the mill district over that time. Daniel Stevenson, Biddeford’s economic and community development director, is correct in his assessment that all of that investment will increase the city’s tax base.
“We’re absorbing the square footage in the mill district very rapidly,” said Stevenson in an Aug. 29 Journal Tribune article. “That’s good for economic growth. It creates literally hundreds of jobs in both construction and permanent jobs.”
No approach is perfect, of course. One aspect of economic development that has raised eyebrows was the decision to hire former City Manager John Bubier as a 30-hour-per-week ecomonic consultant – to the tune of $75,000 a year. Time will tell if that particular investment yields a worthy return, but what’s encouraging is that the very capable Bubier will be focusing on former mill buildings north of the railroad tracks, where Elm Street crosses the Saco River. This area has received scant attention, and can hopefully be repurposed as both residential and commercial space. That’s been a winning formula on the other side of the tracks.
Hopefully, while efforts to improve the downtown are ongoing, other areas of the city aren’t neglected. Sidewalks are crumbling in spots, and other infrastructure improvements need to be made to fully revive the community’s image and reputation.
But the city is moving in the right direction, and MERC’s closure was a major advancement toward that end. Kennebunkport developer Tim Harrington, for one, said he would not have sunk $50 million into the Lincoln Mill for 79 hotel rooms, 95 apartment units and two restaurants had MERC remained in the downtown. And it’s hard to imagine that other businesses – such as two new restaurants that have opened within the last month – would have set up shop in that scenario, either.
Three years in, and MERC’s removal has opened the doors to expanded economic opportunities in the city. Let’s hope the trend continues.
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