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Sponsored by: City of South Portland
July 24, 2019 2019 Fact Book: Doing Business in Maine

City of South Portland

Photo from the City of South Portland Willard Beach is a small sand and pebble beach tucked between Fisherman’s Point and the campus of Southern Maine Community College in a quiet neighborhood of South Portland.
Photo from the City of South Portland South Portland’s Breakwater “Bug Light” Lighthouse was built in 1875 and is one of Maine’s most elegant lighthouses.

“Best Place to Live in Maine” (Money Magazine)

Conveniently located on Casco Bay along southern Maine’s picturesque Atlantic coast, South Portland is a welcoming and inviting community of 26,000 residents and home to over 1,200 diverse and growing businesses, with significant employment in the: insurance, technology manufacturing, retail, education, medical arts, hospitality, and logistic sectors. For the second year in a row, Money Magazine selected South Portland for special recognition, choosing our community as the “Best Place to Live in Maine” in 2018.

Maine’s fourth largest community, South Portland was settled in 1632 and incorporated as an independent city in 1898. Each of more than a dozen residential neighborhoods have their own unique character and charm. In South Portland, you’ll find all the tools to compete at the speed of 21st century business: a highly educated workforce, convenient access to markets, the amenities of a major city, and the charm of a classic New England small town.

Whether visiting for pleasure or business, South Portland is easy to find and get around, with multiple highway connections and a variety of transit options, including local and regional bus, Amtrak passenger rail, and convenient jet service. The Portland International Jetport (PWM) offers several direct flights to most major East Coast cities, several Midwest cities, and Halifax, Nova Scotia. Driving time to Boston is under two hours; New York is about five hours. 700,000 people live or work within an hour’s drive, and 3.6 million people are within a two-hour drive.

The City’s multimodal options offer easy access to markets via truck, rail, air, and barge freight transport, with several carriers based in the city. The Port of Portland/South Portland is the nearest American port to European markets.

South Portland is the proud home of Southern Maine Community College, at Spring Point. Our libraries and public schools are among the best in the state. We offer a full array of recreational opportunities, including Willard Beach, access to an ocean boat launch, marinas, a golf course, state-of-the-art athletic complex (Wainwright Field), and nearly two dozen parks. Part of Maine’s urban core, South Portland remains connected to our natural environment. We boast a well-developed greenbelt/trail network that stretches along the Eastern Trail and East Coast Greenway. All told, we have over 350 acres of parkland and trails.

South Portland maintains an open-minded, proactive, and business friendly approach to business and economic development. This is accomplished through the availability of a robust set of incentive programs, attractive locations, skilled workforce, collaborative city officials, and residents who care about, understand, and support the balance between residential life and economic growth.

Economic activity here remains robust and diverse. Over the last year, we have welcomed the openings of several “First in Maine” or “Only in Maine” locations for national and regional retailers such as Duluth Trading Company and Bernie and Phyl’s Furniture. We look forward to welcoming the region’s largest furniture retailer, Jordan’s Furniture, to the Maine Mall (coming spring 2020). Home2 Suites by Hilton opened last summer on Maine Mall Road and the nearby Sable Oaks development has seen its largest hotel undergo a complete renovation, rebranding, and reopening as the full-service Sheraton at Sable Oaks Hotel. We currently have nearly 1,600 hotel rooms in South Portland with plans for the development of at least one additional new hotel and the renovation/expansion of two existing hospitality properties.

Over the last year, South Portland has approved the development of 120-plus affordable housing units. We have seen several in-fill lots developed. Notably, the Residences at Clark’s Pond, a 253 unit market-rate apartment development received financial backing from a fund participating in the federal “Opportunity Zone” program.

In South Portland, the phrase “Making All Things Possible” is much more than a motto. It is our daily approach to working with and for our citizens – to truly make South Portland the best place to live, work, and play in the State of Maine!

Call us, so we can put our team to work for you and your business.

South Portland Economic Development

City of South Portland
496 Ocean St., P.O. Box 9422
South Portland, Maine 04116

William J. Mann,
Economic Development Director
(207) 767-7603 / wmann@southportland.org

www.southportland.org