🔒Skowhegan set to break ground on riverfront boardwalk

A $1 million commitment from the New Balance Foundation is helping advance construction of the first phase of Skowhegan's riverfront boardwalk. The funding will support both the boardwalk and a planned outdoor equipment-lending hub, known as the Basecamp Gear Library. Main Street Skowhegan says phase one of the project, which will break ground on June 29, is a 4,187-square-foot ADA-accessible decking along Skowhegan's downtown riverfront. Construction began this week, with completion anticipated by December 2026. “The New Balance Foundation is committed to investing in vibrant communities and bright futures through sport," said Molly Santry, director of the New Balance Foundation. “This innovative River Park project along the Kennebec River will more fully connect people to all that the river has to offer — from river sports to outdoor entrepreneurship and education." Boston-based New Balance has two factories in Maine, including one in Skowhegan. Last year, it unveiled the $65 million expansion of the 120,000-square-foot factory there. With another factory in Norway and retail sites, New Balance has 600 employees in Maine.

The vision

The groundbreaking comes as support continues to grow for the broader Skowhegan River Park vision, which includes expanded trails, gathering spaces, recreational amenities and what organizers say would be the Northeast's first adjustable whitewater surf-and-kayak wave. "We are anticipating the whitewater park to break ground, hopefully, next summer; we are still fundraising for this part of the river park project," Kristina Cannon, president and CEO of Main Street Skowhegan and a 2024 Mainebiz Women to Watch, told Mainebiz. She would not specify how much is being raised. Additional phases of the boardwalk are planned in the coming years; the second phase of the boardwalk and promenade, which will add 7,235 square feet of riverfront infrastructure, is planned to begin in spring 2027. "The start of boardwalk construction, New Balance Foundation's transformational investment, and the momentum we've built for future phases of the Skowhegan River Park all point to the same thing: this vision is becoming reality," said Cannon. "After nearly three decades of planning and community engagement, we're about to see the first physical pieces of the project take shape."