Brewer leaders set D.C. meeting

BREWER – Several city leaders plan to meet with Minnesota-based developer Michael Stern in Washington, D.C., over the weekend for face-to-face talks with Maine’s congressional delegation in hopes of attaining federal funding.

Stern is the developer working to refurbish the defunct Eastern Fine Paper Co. mill site on South Main Street – abandoned more than a year ago and given to the city in May 2004 – into a multiuse facility with housing and retail, restaurant and entertainment space.

“The goals are to make the Washington offices of [Maine’s] elected officials aware of the project and what we expect to bring to the community and do for the area,” Stern said Friday during a phone interview. “And to generate as much support for federal funding as possible, because of the benefits created.”

Regional representatives of U.S. Sens. Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins and U.S. Rep. Michael Michaud have shown support of the concept, Drew Sachs, Brewer economic development director, said Friday.

Sachs, along with Brewer Councilor Gail Kelly, who also is the regional director for Snowe, and D’arcy Main-Boyington, deputy economic development director for the city, will join up with Stern on Sunday.

“We’re looking for funding through them for transportation, infrastructure improvements and environmental cleanup,” Sachs said.

The Brewer group also will participate in the National League of Cities Congressional City Conference, March 12-15, while in the nation’s capital.

Stern and Brewer leaders also will meet with potential clients on Sunday and will tour other restored facilities, including the Torpedo Factory Art Center in Alexandria, Va.

“We’re meeting with a prospective tenant who has a business he wants to move to Maine, and kind of settle in Maine,” Stern said. “Then we’re also going to take a tour of a couple of properties … to see if there are some ideas that might carry forward or not. It’s just to get some perspective.”

The Torpedo Factory was created in 1974 by a group of artists in partnership with city officials and is considered the largest and most successful visual arts center in the United States, according to the facility’s Web site. The arts center is open daily and has 84 working studios, retail sales and six galleries.

Stern unveiled concept plans to redevelop the former Brewer mill in January. The Mill at Penobscot Landing, as the redevelopment has been nicknamed, includes a place for artists to create, with housing, retail space, restaurants, brew pubs, boutique shopping, office space, a performance area and maybe even an ice rink, a theater, or both.

Stern hopes to have his final plans complete, permits in hand, to start construction by October, with tenants occupying portions of the facility next spring.

Specific names are not being released, but a brewpub, a high-end restaurant, a martini bar and a retail shop for specialty foods and wines already have shown interest, Sachs said.

“We’re looking at approximately a little more than 10 percent of the mill would be accounted for” if all interested parties sign leases, he said.

“We’re feeling pretty good,” Sachs said.