Augusta, Maine – March 10, 2025 The Maine Downtown Center (MDC), a program of Maine Development Foundation (MDF), is pleased to announce that Van Buren and Waterville are joining its Maine Downtown Center Affiliate Program. Both communities completed an extensive application process that included an online application, a written commitment to the program, a site visit, and a review conducted by professional downtown revitalization experts that serve on the MDC Advisory Council. 

“I am excited for Van Buren to be selected as a Maine Downtown Center Affiliate because it provides our community with valuable resources, networking opportunities, and expert guidance to support our downtown revitalization efforts,” says Luke Dyer, Town Manager of Van Buren. “This designation reinforces our commitment to economic growth, historic preservation, and creative placemaking, ensuring a vibrant and sustainable future for Van Buren.”  

Both Waterville and Van Buren have volunteer committees that will work hard over the next year to build relationships with businesses, residents, property owners, and the municipality.  They will begin to look at downtown assets, priorities for revitalization and begin to use the Main Street Four Point Approach, a proven downtown revitalization method for over 40 years. 

Michael Hall, Community Development Specialist for City of Waterville says, “Downtown Waterville has been on an incredible rise over the past seven years, and becoming a Downtown Affiliate is the next big leap forward! This partnership equips us with the tools, resources, and momentum to supercharge our revitalization, strengthen local businesses, and cement Waterville’s place as the most vibrant downtown in Central Maine.” 

With the addition of Van Buren and Waterville, The Maine Downtown Center now supports 30 member communities throughout Maine: 11 Nationally Accredited Main Street Communities, 13 Maine Downtown Affiliate Communities, and 6 Municipal Communities. Some are in the initial stages of downtown revitalization while many are working toward achieving nationally accredited “Main Street” designation. 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. 

“It is a great feeling to have worked closely with the Van Buren Revitalization Association and Discover Waterville over the last year and have them reach this goal of being excited and committed to having a focused downtown revitalization program. We are looking forward to working with both Waterville and Van Buren on their downtown revitalization journeys as Maine’s two new Affiliates,” said Anne Ball, Senior Program Director of the Maine Downtown Center.   

Biddeford and Saco — November 6-7, 2024  Maine Development Foundation’s (MDF’s) Maine Downtown Center (MDC) held its 25^th Anniversary Conference and Annual Awards over two jam-packed days in Biddeford and Saco. This year’s conference theme, “Revitalization in Action,” set the stage for dynamic discussions, action-oriented workshops, awards, and community tours highlighting ways community leaders, municipal staffs, elected officials, business owners, and passionate residents, are transforming downtown communities throughout Maine. The three awards that were presented and the keynote address by Erin Barnes, President and CEO of Main Street America, underscored the power of collective action to drive community revitalization and growth. 

“We know that we can’t solve everything,” said Erin Barnes, President and CEO of Main Street America, during her keynote address on Thursday. “But we are the experts on our own communities. We have the exact right expertise to mend what’s right in front of us. ” 

More than 150 business, municipal, and community leaders and volunteers from across Maine attended the 2-day Conference. They participated in a variety of ways: through downtown walking tours of neighborhoods, parks, and historic sites both Saco and Biddeford to experience how initiatives are playing out in real life; in workshops aimed at providing tools to transform their own communities; and contributing to strategic discussions of how to scale proven approaches and initiatives to drive equitable, inclusive economic and community development across Maine. 

“Maine has amazing downtowns. Mill towns. Towns on rivers. Towns along the ocean,” said Anne Ball, Senior Program Director for MDC. “They offer beautiful historic fabric and building types, welcoming public spaces, and unique small businesses. These places can also be fragile. If they are going to continue to be economic engines, they need to be cultivated and supported. So, our work is never done.” 

During the Awards Celebration MDC proudly bestowed the following honors: 

2024 Downtown Project of the Year Award to the Szanton Company for The Uptown complex in Bath. Working with more than a dozen public and private partners and funders, Szanton rehabilitated and expanded two historic buildings to offer both residential and commercial space. 42 of the resulting 60 housing units are affordable, helping ease the region’s housing shortage.  

2024 Downtown Small Business Award to Rhona Beauty in Biddeford. Owner Rhona Deah opened the salon to serve multi-cultural women and create a space for “empowerment and self-love.” Deah is an immigrant from Liberia who now employs two hair braiders, offers booths to other stylists, and hosts community events. 

2024 William F. King, Jr., Downtown Champion Award to Luke R Dyer, Town Manager of Van Buren. Dyer served in law enforcement for 30 years before taking the role of Town Manager in Van Buren. He has helped lead several economic development initiatives including the Park Street & Community Garden project, the Van Buren Acadian Passage Lighting Project, and the upcoming $1.8 million community tech hub project. 

The event also celebrated MDC’s 25^th Anniversary of leading preservation-based community and economic development across the state under the umbrella of the national Main Street America organization. MDC currently works with 11 nationally accredited Main Street Maine communities – including the most recent designee, City of Ellsworth, and the nonprofit Heart of Ellsworth – 14 Affiliate Communities and scores of other municipalities and communities. 

“I really don’t think there is any way Ellsworth and Heart of Ellsworth could have achieved national accreditation as a Main Street Community without the help of the Maine Downtown Center,” said Cara Romano, Executive Director of Heart of Ellsworth. “They have been with us every step of the way, helping us figure out the strategic planning, the tactical implementation, and coaching us on how to secure everything from funding to investment in initiatives that have enriched Ellsworth economically.”  

Visit the MDC section of our website to find out more about the broad range of programs we offer. 

HALLOWELL, Maine – October 8, 2024 The Maine Development Foundation (MDF)’s Maine Downtown Center program is pleased to receive a $750,000 grant from the Paul Bruhn Historic Revitalization Grants Program. MDF is one of only 17 recipients in 15 states to receive this funding. Known in Maine as Revitalize ME Downtown, the program will provide grants for historic preservation projects that will foster economic development in Maine’s rural downtowns. This is the third time in five years that MDF has received this highly competitive funding. Similar awards in 2019 and 2021 funded projects in Maine’s Main Street and Affiliate Communities including Skowhegan, Eastport, Bath, Norway, Dover-Foxcroft and Gardiner, Rumford, Machias, Ellsworth and Augusta.  

“Supporting our National Main Street and Affiliate communities by bringing historic preservation funding opportunities to them is one of the most important things MDF’s Maine Downtown Center can do,” says Anne Ball, Sr. Program Director, Maine Downtown Center. “We are grateful to the National Park Service for funding the work we are doing in Maine.”   

Revitalize ME Downtown funds are provided by the Historic Preservation Fund, as administered by the National Park Service, Department of Interior. The Historic Preservation Fund is supported by revenue from offshore oil and gas leases, not tax dollars. The program will offer grants to historic property owners for preservation, restoration, rehabilitation, or energy efficiency projects in the downtown areas of communities currently served by the Maine Downtown Center program.  

Funding in the form of subgrants will be awarded through a competitive program that will be administered by MDF. These grants will provide desperately needed financial capacity to encourage infrastructure development and leverage private sector investment increasing the commercial, educational, residential, or civic use and value of the historic properties. Grant applications and requirements will be made available in January 2024 at www.mdf.org.  

“The National Park Service helps rural areas across the country revitalize their communities through historic preservation,” said National Park Service Director Chuck Sams. “This locally stewarded work supports improvements to historic buildings, preserving America’s cultural resources while benefiting local economies.”  

These grants mark the sixth year of funding for the program honoring the late Paul Bruhn, who served as executive director of the Preservation Trust of Vermont for nearly 40 years. State and Tribal Historic Preservation Offices, Certified Local Governments, special district governments, and nonprofits are eligible to apply for funding to create a subgrant program to fund multiple preservation projects in their rural jurisdictions.  

For immediate release: 

ELLSWORTH, MAINE – September 17, 2024,  MDF’s Maine Downtown Center (MDC) is thrilled to announce that Heart of Ellsworth is the newest nationally accredited addition to Maine’s Main Street program. Becoming an accredited Main Street Program is a mark of distinction. This designation recognizes a community’s long-term commitment to building a grassroots revitalization program, fostering strong public-private partnerships, nurturing economic opportunity for small businesses and entrepreneurs, and actively preserving historic places, spaces and cultural assets.     

“Heart of Ellsworth and the entire Ellsworth community is overjoyed and so proud to receive this accreditation,” says Cara Romano, Executive Director of Heart of Ellsworth. “We look forward to a whole new level of growth as we continue to work with the MDC team and Main Street America to further strengthen our economic infrastructure, attract more investment and new businesses into our community, and bring more visitors to our beautiful city.”   

Heart of Ellsworth joins ten other nationally accredited Main Street communities working with MDC in Maine. These organizations are accredited annually by MDC and meet rigorous standards for revitalization of their downtowns and commercial districts. The accreditation process helps communities identify their strengths and challenges and find resources to continue their progress. Main Streets gain access to and an extensive peer network within the state and nationally.   

“It has been wonderful to support Heart of Ellsworth on its journey to accreditation, “says Anne Ball, Senior Program Director, MDC. “Not only does Ellsworth have a walkable downtown with many locally owned businesses, historic buildings and sites such as the Old Hancock Jail, and a riverwalk under development, they also have a strong organization leading the revitalization effort. The Heart of Ellsworth should be recognized for their leadership and their broad-based community support and their commitment to downtown revitalization. We are so excited during our 25^th anniversary year to bring on our 11^th Main Street. We look forward to continuing to work with Heart of Ellsworth as they start their next chapter as an accredited Main Street.”  

MDC represents some of the strongest core downtown commercial districts in the State and in New  

England. The Center serves as the State Coordinator for Maine’s National Main Street Program, which is under the umbrella of the national Main Street America organization. For more than 40 years, the Main Street America movement has been committed to strengthening communities by revitalizing older and historic downtowns and neighborhood commercial districts through preservation-based economic development.  

In addition to the now 11 Nationally Accredited Main Street Communities, MDC works with 13 Maine Downtown Affiliate Communities, and 4 Municipal Communities. Some 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.  

Michelle Beal, an Ellsworth resident and City Council Member shared, “The Main Street designation is an invaluable asset in supporting the city’s continued growth and vibrancy, especially in its downtown area.  As the business and professional hub of Hancock County, this designation is a monumental step in ensuring the City become a model for work-life balance and amplifies the pride Ellsworth has in its historic walkable downtown and riverfront.” 

For more information about MDF’s Maine Downtown Center and our work in communities large and small across Maine, visit the MDC section of this website. 

Photo credit: Mike Perlman/mikeperlman.com

Hallowell, MAINE — January 16, 2023  — The Maine Downtown Center, a program of Maine Development Foundation (MDF), has been awarded a $331,050 Maine Office of Tourism Marketing and Development Recovery Grant which was funded through the US Economic Development Administration (EDA) American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) Travel, Tourism, and Outdoor Recreation State Grant.  

 
The funds will support the development of tourism experiences in historic downtowns that in turn boost the larger community’s economic recovery and strengthen the resilience of these downtowns going forward.  

“Maine’s 10 nationally accredited Main Street organizations will benefit from this grant as they build place-based tourism enterprises that will support their communities. Our MainStreetMaine.org platform will be ready to share these experiences in the next year.” says Anne Ball, Senior Program Director, Maine Downtown Center. 

This innovative approach to community and economic development is developed and driven by community desire and customer demand and in line with the Maine Office of Tourism’s Destination Management Plan. The project will take place in collaboration with Maine’s Main Street organizations through Main Street Maine, an existing web and social media project. 

The funds will enable the Planeterra Foundation to conduct training, support for integrating community tourism enterprises into existing business models, stakeholder analysis, market analysis, and value chain analysis. Bonneville Consulting will also support the effort through web site updates and fresh marketing efforts.  

These efforts are expected to provide a significant boost to Maine downtowns which were hit hard by the Coronavirus Pandemic lockdown in 2020 and continue to feel economic challenges with workforce, adaptation to technology, the need for new business models, and supply chain issues. Research by Main Street America shows that small businesses located in a Main Street, or an Affiliate Community fared better than those in other communities. Downtown organizations are critical to efficient and effective application of this grant money and to keeping these downtowns vibrant and thriving. To learn more about Maine Downtown Center and how your community can get involved, visit our website. 

MDF’s Maine Downtown Center Senior Program Director, Anne Ball was among the Maine subject matter experts and business owners quoted in an in-depth Wall Street Jounral article, “The Math Problem Stymieing Small Businesses in Rural America”.

Through the story of Amber Lambke of Skowhegan and her company, Maine Grains, the piece highlights the challenge many rural entrepreneurs and small businesses face when trying to find space to operate and/or expand. Here’s an excerpt:

“Low valuations and a lack of recent comparable sales affect both commercial and residential appraisals, with spillover effects for local businesses. They make it tough for rural entrepreneurs to tap home equity, a common form of startup financing, or use their homes as collateral for a small-business loan. They also create roadblocks for developers seeking to build new homes to retain and attract new residents and hamper wealth-building in rural areas.

‘It’s disheartening,’ said Anne Ball, program director of the Maine Development Foundation, a nonprofit working on rural economic development in the state. ‘Amber is the poster child of a really successful businesswoman with a successful business solving important food issues.’ The challenges facing rural entrepreneurs such as Lambke will only increase as inflation and rising wages widen the gap between the cost of new projects and the value of existing properties, Ball said.”