Westphal meets with city businesses UMS move to aid downtown economy

BANGOR – Among the 30 or so curious voices who chatted away Wednesday evening inside Bagel Central about the University of Maine System’s pending move to the city’s downtown, nearly everyone agreed that the economic stimulation the move will bring is long overdue.

UMS Chancellor Joseph Westphal hosted an informational meeting for several of Bangor’s existing downtown merchants and retailers. The heavy rain outside didn’t stop people from seeing the glass half full in a move that will bring more than 100 new employees to the historic W.T. Grant Building at the corner of Central and State streets.

“Downtown Bangor is never going to be what it was in the 1950s and ’60s,” said Brad Ryder, owner of Epic Sports, which is in the first floor of the Grant building. “But this is really going to lift it up and breathe new life into what has been a hugely underutilized area.”

“This is good for the downtown. It can only add to the economy,” added Peter Burnett, who owns the Walk Shop on Main Street. “This was a perfect way to keep the downtown intact while adding a large mass of people.”

UMS and its approximately 120 employees are moving into the top three floors of the historic city building sometime in October, according to John Diamond, executive director of external affairs for UMS. The move is part of a land swap agreement arranged last fall between the city and university system. In exchange, the city received land near the airport adjacent to the Maine Business Enterprise Park.

“We thought it was important to start telling folks who we are and let them know we’re coming,” Westphal said about Wednesday’s meeting. “There are still a lot of people who don’t know who we are or what we do.”

The new UMS facility at the Grant building, which was renovated after standing empty for nearly a decade, will house the administrative staff of a system responsible for seven campuses, including the flagship campus in Orono. Right now, UMS employees are scattered among four different buildings.

“This is a huge commitment on the part of the system,” City Councilor John Cashwell said, calling the swap a win-win situation. “The economic development for the downtown business is healthy and we’re pleased [UMS] wanted to be a part of it.”

Westphal, in turn, praised the city for making the process as smooth as possible and said his staff is very much looking forward to being downtown.

“We host meetings all the time where we bring in people from all over the country and even outside the country,” he said. “But we’ve had to move meetings or cancel them altogether because we haven’t had a place to have them.

“Now we have a place,” he said.

Parking has been the only potentially contentious issue associated with the move, but most said it won’t be a problem. As part of the land swap, UMS employees will be able to park in the city-owned garage at Pickering Square free of charge.

“Having a parking shortage downtown, that’s a good thing for the city to worry about” because it means more people are downtown, Westphal said.