Courtesy / Lynne Cormier
Amenities along the riverwalk include formal landscaping, park benches, lighting, surveillance cameras designed to ensure safety, and chess tables like this one.
Updated: November 7, 2019
In Brewer, evolving riverwalk drives 'steady drumbeat' of business
Courtesy / Brenda Gladu
The second phase of the Brewer Riverwalk was recently completed. The walk has proven key to attracting new business to the area.
The city of Brewer recently wrapped up the second of several phases of development of its riverwalk.
The walk, along the Penobscot River and parallel to downtown Main Street, is probably the city's biggest business attraction in recent years, said D’arcy Main-Boyington, Brewer’s economic development director.
“We haven’t had any big bursts,” Main-Boyington told Mainebiz, in speaking to the establishment of new businesses along the waterfront. “But it’s been a pretty steady drumbeat. Every month we have one or two grand openings. That’s been going on for a few years now.”
Most recently, Kinetic Wellness Center held a grand opening Nov. 2 at 191 S. Main St. The center is located along what is expected to become a future section of the walk, said Main-Boyington.
A country-themed restaurant called Whiskey River Smokehouse is due to open later this month at 95 Main St., along a prime part of the walk.
Hush hair salon is also a new arrival on South Main Street, she noted.
Generating additional energy, and catering to a growing population using the walk, are High Tide Restaurant and Bar and Mason Brewing Co., which both opened on the riverfront a few years ago.
In the last three years, Main-Boyington said, more than a dozen new businesses have opened in a section adjacent to the walk that’s bounded by Main, Penobscot, Center and Betton streets.
Elsewhere in town, Dirigo Drive has also experienced a steady influx of new or expanding establishments: Elevate Child Care Center has a grand opening scheduled for Nov. 12; the for-profit Brewer Transfer Station opened in late October; and Downeast Horizons, a nonprofit serving people with developmental disabilities, last month began a $2.5 million expansion that will nearly triple its size and accommodate 20 new employees.
In addition, G-Force Adventure Center opened at 510 Wilson St. in September.
“This is all within the last month and a half,” Main-Boyington said.
Reclaim the waterfront
The walk has played a big role in improving the quality of the waterfront, she added.
“For many years, the river was polluted,” she said. “People had turned their backs to the river, figuratively and literally: Houses on the waterfront faced the street and not the river. The river wasn’t an asset for many years.”
Two decades ago, city leaders decided to reclaim the waterfront as an attractive destination enjoyable both to residents and visitors.
The city began developing the waterfront in the early 2000s, starting with a large shoreland stabilization project and the creation of the half-acre Children’s Garden.
The first half of the riverwalk runs from Hardy Street to the Joshua Chamberlain Bridge; this section opened in 2013. The second phase, running from Penobscot Street to the Joshua Chamberlain Bridge, doubled the trail’s length. Construction of the second phase included cutting through an existing opening at the base of the bridge in order to create a tunnel and join the two phases.
“We completed the second phase this summer, and we’re looking toward the third phase,” Main-Boyington said.
The walk features parks with themed plantings, a waterfall and an area for events such as weddings or performances.
Outdoor business meetings
Amenities include park benches, picnic tables and chess tables. Free Wi-Fi is available throughout the trail’s length.
“I’ve seen a number of people having business meetings there, or studying,” she said. “We were looking for ways to make the trail useful and interesting for as many different users as we can.”
A key element is a surveillance camera system along the trail’s full length, she noted.
“Safety is a huge priority,” she said. “We want to make sure people always feel safe while they’re enjoying the waterfront.”
There are future plans to extend the walk along the shoreline south of Hardy Street, said Main-Boyington.
The trail’s development has been key to business attraction.
“I can’t begin to tell you how many businesses want to be on the riverfront,” she said. “There’s a huge amount of interest. People are seeing how much activity is going on down there.”
Unintentionally, the walk has become a great perk during Bangor’s Waterfront Concerts across the river.
“If there’s a Waterfront Concert in Bangor, you’ll see the Brewer shore completely filled with people having picnics and setting up their chairs,” she said. “We jokingly refer to it as Brewer’s cheap seats.”
That’s generated additional business activity among people who fill up Brewer’s waterfront restaurants during the concerts.
“And that drives more business wanting to be located along the waterfront,” she said.
Completion of the second half of the trail inspired the creation of the first Brewer Riverwalk Festival in June, in partnership with the downtown business community.
Plans are in the works for the second festival next year, she said.
“We hear daily from businesses that want to be part of that energy,” she added.
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