1. On the Path to Community
Improvement
GrowSmart Maine Summit
October 23, 2012
Greg Paxton, Maine Preservation

2. What are Maine’s communities’ most
valuable assets?
• Citizens
• Existing Tax Base

3. Managing the Tax Base
Alternate title of the session:
Making Eyesores into Assets.

4. The Problem
Some view vacant buildings as an
unfulfilled promise that needs to be
eliminated.
• An embarrassment
• A failure
• A visible sign of weakness

5. The Solution
• View buildings as opportunities
• Think from the ground up not the sky down
• Inventory your buildings, including condition
• Seek incremental improvement to buildings
• Inventory the community – what needs are
missing?
• Match opportunities to existing spaces

6. Do one thing:
Urge every new business to consider locating in
downtown

7. Do Another
Get over the fear of historic preservation
• Developed neighborhood rehabilitation
– Charleston, 1955, Providence, Portland, etc.
• Developed downtown revitalization
– Main Street Program: 2,200 cities, 30 in Maine
– Maine Downtown Center, Maine Development Foundation
– “Economic development in the context of
historic preservation”
• Promotes tourism and retirees (2 big imports)

8. Historic preservation is the most catalytic approach
to revitalization in the country.
Except for Las Vegas, experts cannot point to a city
that has revitalized without historic preservation
being a major component.
Historic preservation is a bootstrap method for
revitalization.
The reason it works: When one owner of a historic
building sees another owner fix his/hers up, they
want to know how – and are spurred to imitate.
Community appearance improves from the core out.

9. The Approach
• Either tackle the biggest problem with an all out
concerted effort (requires talent & experience)
• Or begin to make small improvements to build
momentum
• We’ll discuss both today.

10. Downtown Augusta

12. Downtown Augusta

13. Downtown Augusta

14. Downtown Eastport

15. Downtown Eastport

16. Downtown Eastport

17. Downtown Eastport

18. Dover Foxcroft
Moosehead Manufacturing

19. Dover Foxcroft
Moosehead Manufacturing

20. Dover Foxcroft
Moosehead Manufacturing

21. Dover Foxcroft
Moosehead Manufacturing