Mainebiz has been actively following the changes in Portland’s downtown.
Last July, we had a cover story, “Portland at a crossroads,” written by Deputy Editor Renee Cordes, that looked at the growing number of vacancies on Congress Street, a main thoroughfare through the downtown. Increased crime, homelessness and drug use were factors in the downturn, Mainebiz reported at the time.
That story, which included a store-by-store inventory of vacancies, won an award in the New England Newspaper and Press Association contest and, we just learned, will receive an award from the Society for Advancing Business Editing and Writing, which will hold its annual conference in Philadelphia in May.
Fast forward to this issue, Renee returned to Congress Street to interview some new retailers along the downtown corridor. Her report is, while the area is still staging a comeback, it may have hit bottom.
Elsewhere in the issue, Senior Writer Laurie Schreiber looks at a real estate story that’s as much about changing demographics as it is about bricks and mortar. Former churches are being reused in a variety of ways, from restaurants and event spaces to housing and community centers.
Finally, Staff Writer Tina Fischer looks at how factory-built components are speeding up parts of the construction process. “Where it used to take a month to frame and get a building watertight, it now takes three-and-a-half days,” says one construction manager.
