🔒Biddeford program aims for a downtown renaissance

Biddeford has earned a reputation as a gritty, blue-collar mill town that trucks in trash to burn in a downtown incinerator. There's about 1 million square feet of mill space that is largely vacant, yet the buildings downtown still ooze historic charm.

The tree-lined Main Street almost appears quaint on a recent afternoon, with a diverse mix of restaurants offering ethnic foods — burritos, Chinese, Thai, sushi and Irish-American. Antique stores speak to the city's history, but the Engine art gallery and Phoenix Rising jewelry store hint at the city's future.

At the center of it all is a volunteer group called the Heart of Biddeford, which recently announced the winners of its Main Street Challenge, which provides three businesses with money and services to help them through their first year (for more on the winners, see “Main Street Challenge,” page 19).

The contest is just one way the Heart of Biddeford, one of Maine Development Foundation's Main Street Maine communities, is trying to remake and revitalize the city. For its efforts, the group was recently recognized as the “Outstanding Main Street of the Year” at the MDF annual conference.

Delilah Poupore was appointed HoB executive director in March 2011, filling a paid, part-time position that had been vacant for three months. She moved to Saco five years ago with her husband, Jonathan Drummy, a Biddeford native. Prior to coming here, she worked in higher education as a strategic planner at the University of California at Santa Barbara, among others.

“This is a town with great history and fascinating culture and some of the most beautiful buildings in the state on a gorgeous river,” she boasts. “[It's] a town that has a hospital, university and oceanfront beaches.”

After operating for five years on a budget of $60,000, HoB recently increased its budget to $89,000, $20,000 of which comes from the city. Poupore says the increased budget has been supported by more business sponsorships and grant writing.

Poupore says the group is developing stronger ties with the Saco-Biddeford Chamber, the Buy Local group and Saco Spirit, another Main Street community, to coordinate efforts to revitalize interest in the downtowns.

Mainebiz recently talked with Poupore about the challenges and opportunities for economic growth in Biddeford. Below is an edited transcript:

Mainebiz: What was it about the Heart of Biddeford that drew your interest?

Pourpore: When I moved out here I was doing some [strategic planning] consulting [for nonprofits] and teaching songwriting. I had always admired what the Heart of Biddeford was doing, so when this job opened up I hoped my past experience could apply to this work. And it really does. I love organizations and projects that draw people in from all walks of life to create something together.

Where did you get the idea for the Main Street Challenge?

I knew that I really wanted to focus on recruitment and bringing in new businesses. In my hometown, Duluth, Minn., they were doing a Great Space Giveaway, and as I read up on it, I thought Duluth has so many commonalities with Biddeford in terms of being a [once] successful industrial town that is now trying to find its way again.

What was the response like from prospective business owners?

It was exciting to get 27 pitches — just seeing people's enthusiasm and excitement. We did not get very many retail businesses, and that's one of the things we would like more of on Main Street — retail businesses that cluster and complement the other businesses downtown.

We did get at least three coffee shop-related businesses, and that's one of our priorities. I think they have a real potential to draw [University of New England] students down here and give people who are coming to town the first place to stop, a bit of a social hub.

How have you tried to position those businesses to succeed?

The highest failure rate for any business is in the first year and a lot of that depends on whether they had the funds in line to get through that first year. Well, these businesses are getting six months of free rent, a $10,000 forgivable loan and really valuable in-kind services like free Internet and phone, [and] advertising opportunities through their chamber membership.

Just to get over the money investment of the first year, they have this incredible amount of support. And the press they have already gotten, and will get through this, puts them in great position to really be noticed. There have been businesses that have opened downtown that people don't even know are there. Another reason I think these businesses will get a push is because we arranged business planning training sessions for the contestants. [The winners] have experts in legal affairs and small business startups to mentor and help them.

What are your other accomplishments during your first year?

One, I think, is highlighting Biddeford as a place for entrepreneurs. There were 14 vacancies on Main Street a year ago. You can see that as dire, or as 'look at all that opportunity there.' We were able to advertise that opportunity through innovative programs.

Like what?

We did a youth pop-up competition, which means we had high school and college students running stores [in vacant storefronts] for a month leading up to the December holidays. One had an ice cream shop and another had a Fruit de la Terre, which means fruits of the earth; it was kind of a farmers' market. That brought a lot of publicity. It not only gave students a chance to try on business ownership, but it also got the word out, 'Hey, there are all these spots here and you can think creatively in Biddeford.'

How many vacancies do you have now?

Six, and that includes lower Alfred Street. But up to three of those could be taken by the Main Street Challenge.

What else has been going on?

We have all kinds networking events and meetings, but we also started up the entrepreneurs group that meets the second Friday of every month. It focuses on educational opportunities and networking — teaching the business owners [about] Facebook, leadership sessions, customer service [and] storefront design…. The best way to start recruitment is to make sure the businesses we have are well supported and looking good and doing well. The design committee has helped eight storefronts this year put in new lighting in the windows and do redesigns of their displays, so as people walk down the street they will be drawn in. We [recently] won a pitch competition [through the Maine Development Foundation] on that and got $1,500 and another $1,500 in in-kind services.

I understand your group is keen on “talking trash.” Can you explain?

It's funny, it's notable, but it's part of the bigger effort. The garbage cans as you walk up and down Main Street are painted by artists. We did a 'Let's Talk Trash' contest last spring and asked area artists to do a design and then a winner was chosen. It's a small thing but it also subtly communicates there are a lot of artistic and creative efforts going on in the area. And it's also part of our values — that incremental change is the level of change we can impact.

That's not the only trash talk in town. How often does the Maine Energy Recovery Co. trash incinerator come up in your conversations about obstacles to overcome for economic development? Is that really a big deal?

Yeah. On the one side, the city has benefited from MERC being here economically in terms of the tax base and having 80 employees downtown. I don't think anybody wants to say unilaterally MERC is terrible. But there have been major companies that I have talked to that said, 'We won't come until MERC is gone.' There's a perception that goes along with having that chimney and the smell that comes with having trash in your downtown. People wonder, 'Why would a city let trash be brought to its downtown?'

Someone recently described Biddeford as a “Little Brooklyn.” Is that a comparison you agree with and welcome?

There's definitely a draw from Brooklyn up here, so I think it might be true. I think part of that [draw] is the gorgeous brick buildings. Biddeford isn't quaint. It's edgy and with that I think artists are drawn to it. Artists see opportunity in places, so they come in first and create a scene. They draw the attention of people who want to come see art and enjoy the restaurant next door and then think, 'Maybe I could open a clothing store there, too.' We're definitely capitalizing on the city-type atmosphere.

What are biggest challenges to economic development in Biddeford?

A lot comes under the heading of local mindset: people believing in the downtown again; people not believing the phrase, 'There's no parking there,' because there is. There may not be enough parking, but if you're willing to walk a block and a half, there is parking. [Also, there is] a little bit of that 'We've tried that before' mindset. We need to get over some of those things locally, because it's new people, it's a new time, and it's not the same economic era we were in five, 10, 15 years ago, so you can try something in a different way again.

We've heard anecdotally that local politics can be somewhat adversarial, which has hurt economic development. Has anything changed under Mayor Alan Casavant?

Mayor Casavant has been actively supportive of almost everybody who wants to try and make a difference in Biddeford. I'd say the atmosphere at City Hall [reflects that] it's a great time to introduce people to Biddeford.

I have heard Biddeford often has an antagonist political atmosphere. There is a difficult budget process going on. From the outside, it sure seems like people are trying to work together. When you have a city that has been this hard hit and you don't know where to point a finger or find a solution, or you've tried so many times and you're not sure where you're going to find it, the only people you can take it out on is each other, and that's what happens.

What does the Heart of Biddeford have on tap for the upcoming year?

We have strategic planning meeting with the board, and that's how we kicked off last year. I think it's really important to get people around the table and get their ideas. Over the next year, my goal would be that people say Biddeford is a good place to do business; that it's easy to set up shop; they feel supported by the city; there's a lot of resources from Heart of Biddeford.