🔒Downtown revitalization is on the agenda for several coastal locations

The cover story for this issue focuses on downtown Bath and the revitalization it has seen.

But Bath is not the only place with changes planned for the central business district.

Downtowns are critical to the vitality of a town or city, not just economically but in giving the residents something to be proud of.

Ellsworth has a grant program that offers incentives to downtown retailers that make improvements to storefronts, and in recent months has been more aggressive about marketing vacant storefronts to prospective merchants.

“Our city is committed to fostering a vibrant downtown through initiatives like our tourism marketing and development plan and yearly beautification efforts such as the Franklin Street Parklet to design a welcoming atmosphere for both residents and visitors,” Cara Romano, Heart of Ellsworth’s executive director, said earlier this year.

Freeport is adding downtown housing. Port Clyde is redeveloping its waterfront downtown. And Rockland plans to launch a program that will focus on downtown efforts as well as overall economic development.

“The Rockland City Council made a visible commitment to economic development in October by endorsing the development of an economic development strategy,” city communications manager David Troup told Mainebiz. “The strategy will consider ways to support growth of the wide range of businesses that already call Rockland home, as well as opportunities to attract new businesses. The city expects to issue a request for proposals from consultants shortly after the holidays. This initiative builds on the city’s recent work to attract and retain workforce in Rockland by increasing affordable workforce housing.”