Courtesy / Heart of Ellsworth
A new study illustrates Ellsworth’s downtown broken up into districts to help identify the experiences and qualities of neighborhood assets and challenges.
Updated: January 9, 2023
Ellsworth encouraged to 'think big' as it plans the next decade of development
Courtesy / Kyle Lamont/Good to Go Studio
A new study says Ellsworth’s downtown is on the rise as a place to invest.
The city of Ellsworth has been seeing steady residential and commercial development that reflects a growth in population of 21.7% from 2000 to 2015 — five times the state's growth rate.
Now, a new study says the Hancock County city is on the rise as a place to invest as it emerges as a business and community hub, with the most recent data available from the U.S. Census Bureau showing the population grew an additional 2% between 2020 and 2021 alone.
“With the forthcoming city of Ellsworth 2023 comprehensive plan, it's a great time for investors to take notice and help shape our future,” Cara Romano, executive director of Heart of Ellsworth, told Mainebiz.
The mission of Heart of Ellsworth is to promote economic, artistic, cultural, educational, historical, and environmental activities in the downtown area to provide a vibrant community for residents, businesses, nonprofits and local government.
The organization recently completed a comprehensive study of the city’s downtown assets. “2022 Downtown Asset Mapping” encourages residents, leaders and business owners "to think big as Ellsworth moves into its next 10 years of development,” said Heart of Ellsworth board president Phyllis Young.
The study identified the downtown’s primary strengths, including a strong and diverse dining sector, a collection of historic Main Street buildings and historic homes tucked into the tree-lined side streets, and a variety of events that have the potential to expand.
Ellsworth is the crossroads to some of the state’s biggest tourist attractions, on the Route 1, Route 1A and Route 3 corridors near the convergence of Interstate 95 and Route 1A. For many travelers, it's en route to Acadia National Park, Bangor, Downeast and midcoast regions and the Blue Hill, Deer Isle and Schoodic peninsulas. It's near assets like airports, higher education, health care systems and recreational opportunities. Despite ongoing development along the city’s big-box corridor and on the outskirts, the study says the downtown has been able to maintain a “down-home feel” that compares well with growing communities in Hancock County.
In addition, business owners and city administrators have demonstrated a commitment to historic preservation and improving existing assets, the study says.
The neighborhood’s compactness has also made it a “walkable and inviting pedestrian environment.”
But there could be improvements.
“The expansion of sidewalks and crosswalks beyond major roads could increase the walkability, and pull people into new pockets of the downtown,” the study continues. “The addition of designated walking trails and connections to neighborhoods, parks and waterfront could open up new recreational opportunities.”
The study was made possible with the sponsorship of Franklin Savings Bank, a grant from the Maine Community Foundation, and in partnership with the city of Ellsworth.
Looking for 'big ideas'
Heart of Ellsworth contracted with Portland, Ore., HUB Collective to carry out the work. HUB Collective has done similar community work projects in cities and towns across the country.
The project kicked off in April 2022 when HUB Collective was in town for four days to host meetings that asked local stakeholders to share their thoughts on the city’s assets and opportunities for growth and improvement.
Several surveys were also used to reach people who didn’t attend the meetings.
Last month, Romano presented the final report to the Ellsworth City Council.
“The completion of this study is timely as the city plans to begin deliberations for its revised comprehensive plan in 2023,” Romano said.
Future plans include meetings to discuss the findings and find ways to execute the report's recommendations or “big ideas,” as the report says.
That includes creating lodging for visitors to stay overnight downtown.
“Right now visitors staying in Ellsworth have the choice of a few national chains along the main highway toward Bar Harbor. These lodgings are too far away from downtown for walking and don’t provide a uniquely Ellsworth experience.”
The reports identifies a large central parking lot, between Main Street and the city hall, as a location that could use aesthetic and functional improvement for pedestrians, perhaps with the addition of things like green space, park benches, community events and better public restrooms.
Need for a visitor center
Survey respondents highlighted a lack of awareness that there is a downtown with things to do and places that would interest visitors.
“Incrementally addressing these issues with the goal of ultimately establishing a visitor/information center where people can learn about the downtown and more can address this,” the report says.
The study also recommends promoting the city’s working waterfront and adding amenities such as trails and parks connected with the Union River, which borders the downtown.
Additional goals to “build the momentum for an even better downtown,” the study says, include utilizing support from Chicago-based nonprofit Main Street America, which seeks to revitalize older and historic commercial districts nationwide; seek historic district designation; create welcome packets for new residents and business owners; conduct a traffic study to tackle issues related to traffic volume and noise; and increase downtown residential density by optimizing second- and third-story housing.
Overall, the study concludes that Ellsworth’s downtown “is in a good place” with “a healthy mix of dining and retail, a strong core along Main Street, a beautiful historic urban fabric, natural beauty along the river, and an engaged community group and leadership.”
Nevertheless, the study could be used “as one of many essential tools that leaders use to take that good place to a great place for generations to come,” it says.
To see the report, click here.
A hard copy is available at the Ellsworth Public Library, or by appointment at the Heart of Ellsworth office on State Street in downtown Ellsworth.
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