OLD TOWN — MDF’s Maine Downtown Center is pleased to announce that a new community is joining its Maine Downtown Center Affiliate Program. The Downtown Old Town Committee went through an extensive application process including an online application, a site visit, an interview with professional downtown revitalization experts, and a written commitment to the program.
“The Downtown Old Town Committee is very excited,” says EJ Roach, director of Economic & Community Development for the City of Old Town. “This partnership will help us strengthen our economic infrastructure, attract more investment and new businesses into our community, and bring more visitors to Downtown Old Town.”
With the addition of Old Town, The Maine Downtown Center Affiliate Program currently supports 27 member communities throughout Maine — 10 Nationally Accredited Main Street Communities, 14 Maine Downtown Affiliate Communities, and three Municipal Communities. Some, like Old Town, are in the early stages of downtown revitalization, and many are working toward achieving national “Main Street” accreditation. MDC offers access to training by state and national downtown development experts, best practices in the field, and a network of peers from around the state.
Old Town already has a long-standing relationship with both MDC and MDF, being one of 10 communities that were part of the FOR Maine Initiative (Forest Opportunity Roadmap) that MDF has led for many years. As part of this initiative, Old Town was one of the communities that opted-in for receiving technical assistance on their downtown initiative. In 2022, MDC supported Old Town’s participation in the Downtown Redevelopment Services’ Revitalization Roadmap process, producing a report of recommendations for their downtown. MDC has already begun working with Downtown Old Town Committee and municipal staff to prioritize work, develop a realistic work plan, and training on the Main Street Four Point Approach laid out by the National Main Street Center.
“We are excited to have Old Town join the Maine Downtown Center family. Old Town has amazing assets including the largest riverfront park in any of our communities and an historic downtown library. We are eager to work with them on their downtown revitalization journey,” said Anne Ball, senior program director of the Maine Downtown Center.
