On the record: Tanya Emery, director of the Bangor Community and Economic Development Department
Photo / Dave Clough
Tanya Emery, director of the Bangor Community and Economic Development Department, says her primary focus is to create jobs in “high-value-added industries.”
Tanya Emery, director of the Bangor Community and Economic Development Department, has had a key role in the city's recent development. She was instrumental in the deal to bring discounter Wayfair (and 450 jobs) to the former L.L.Bean call center, as well as several downtown conversions and the addition of downtown retailers.
Recently, there have been announcements about upgrades to the Darling's Waterfront Pavilion summer concert venue, a $2 million conversion of the former Dakin Sporting Goods building downtown into luxury apartments, the addition of an Elevation Burger. We had a chance to ask Emery about the scope of development. Here's an edited transcript:
Mainebiz: Bangor is already pretty densely developed. Where are new businesses siting themselves?
Tanya Emery: Mixed-use rehab, especially downtown, has really taken off in the last few years. The city had several buildings that were vacant for 20-plus years that were purchased by developers, then rehabbed. People are seeing a lot of success in that model. And there's tremendous interest in residential buildings downtown. For example, a developer bought 25-27 Broad St. [the former Merchants Bank Building, built in 1835] and 8 Merchant's Plaza a couple of years ago and renovated them. Evenrood's Restaurant and Designs by Aaron, a jewelry store, are in the retail space on the ground floors now, with apartments upstairs. Other new businesses include West Market Square Artisan Coffeehouse; the steakhouse Brahma Grill (filling the former Massimo's Cucina Italiana space); and Explore Bangor, which rents bikes and boats.
MB: How does the city directly assist business?
TE: We have significantly fewer resources than we used to have. Our biggest asset is the portfolio of land and buildings that we have available. That's what we're doing with Wayfair. We have a building that the city owns, so we could incentivize them into coming here. Other cities put cash on the table. What we do instead, for example, is make improvements to a building we own, for the benefit of their business. We're investing $1 million total, with $479,000 going to tenant improvements for Wayfair, and the rest going for work on the sewer lines, a new roof, window repairs, parking lot and other work. We have from May 1 to July 1 to get our work done, then Wayfair will begin interior work. Their goal is to be in the building by Aug. 1. They have an initial seven-year lease and two five-year renewals. We're thrilled they'll be creating 450 full-time jobs with benefits.
Occasionally, we do credit enhancement agreements and we do have tax increment financing districts to fill a financing gap in certain situations.
MB: What does all this activity mean for job growth?
TE: The city has seen a tremendous amount of growth in the hospitality industry. Restaurants, retail, hotels — the growth has been extraordinary. There's a new Residence Inn Bangor that opened six months ago, next to the Cross Insurance Center. That's brought dozens of new jobs down there. We're certainly seeing growth in that area. And we remain focused on high-value-added industries such as manufacturing, which not only give people jobs but give them great paychecks so they can go out and enjoy the arts and the restaurants. I think it's important to focus on that kind of diversity of economic activities. That's the only way we can buffer ourselves from economic downturns. The greater Bangor region has been an employment hub for northern and eastern Maine for generations, and has been struggling with the loss of employment, especially with the loss of manufacturing and the paper mills. The greater Bangor region lost 1,500 to 2,000 jobs in the past two years. So we continue to focus on diversified economic opportunities, looking at diversified means of employment. It's not just about investment. It's about looking for employment opportunities. That burden of needing to focus on job creation is heavy. I spend a lot of time thinking about it. We are responsible for continuing to create an environment where investment can occur so that the private sector can create jobs, giving people opportunity.
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