Bucksport plans new renovations to its downtown

BUCKSPORT – The downtown area could get a new look under a draft revitalization plan.

Although merchants at a Tuesday night review of the plan were generally enthusiastic about the proposals, they raised some long-standing concerns about the shortage of customers along Main Street.

The draft plan was developed by Richard Rothe of Rothe Associates in Hallowell over the past year based on suggestions from merchants and includes wide-ranging strategies to improve the downtown area over a number of years. The keystone of the revitalization plan is the redevelopment of the Braun property, according to Rothe.

“This is the big ticket item,” he said.

The total redevelopment of that site, which sits at the end of the Route 1 bridge into town, will make a “huge” improvement in that property.

The idea has been discussed before and plans are already in the works for the town to acquire a portion of the site, including the run-down, two-story building. The town already plans to use part of that site for a combined sewer overflow system. The draft plan includes construction of a small, multiuse commercial building on the site, 40 parking spaces on a two-tier lot and a ship sculpture near the existing fishermen’s wharf.

“That will be a real eye-catcher coming across the bridge,” said Amanda Walker of Kent Associates in Gardiner, who prepared the concept drawing for the plan.

Improvements at both ends of the waterfront walkway are included in the draft plan. It calls for extending the walkway under the Verona bridge, behind the Irving station and ending at the Buck Cemetery. At the other end, the plan recommends that he town work with Webber Oil to incorporate the dock property into the downtown.

Merchants were almost unanimous in their approval of the suggestion that the town acquire property as it becomes available to increase public parking near Main Street. They agreed that developing parking behind MacLeod’s restaurant, which would require the purchase of land, should be one of the top priorities for the town. Parking in that area would also be a key to developing a new use for the now-vacant Jed Prouty building.

Some merchants, however, balked at the suggestion that the town acquire Main Street properties in order to create more waterfront views. That would involve removing some buildings that have “lower value” uses.

“I don’t see how opening up new spaces aligns with our desire to have more goods, services and concessions on the waterfront,” said Richard Rosen. “We want more food, variety, even housing. We need buildings to do that.”

Rothe acknowledged that “you have to be careful,” but said developing more views of the water by removing low value properties could, in fact, draw more people to the downtown area.

New signs, sidewalks and lighting all play a role in a revitalized downtown area, but merchants, though enthusiastic, remained puzzled over how to get more local people to shop in the downtown area.

“Why are people going to Bangor and Brewer? asked Andy Lacher. “That’s the whole thing. We need to find a way to get local people to shop locally.”

Town Manager Roger Raymond urged the merchants to work with Dave Milan, the town’s economic development director, to develop a marketing plan that would promote the downtown area.

“If you give us a good solid marketing plan, the council will support it,” Raymond said. “You have a heck of a product to sell; you just haven’t sold it.”

The draft plan includes a marketing component and the merchants set it as one of the priorities in the plan, along with the top priority Braun property redevelopment, parking, and creating views.

The town economic development committee was scheduled to review the draft plan Wednesday night and decide whether to recommend it to the town council. If councilors adopt the plan, Milan said, the committee would begin to work with committees to implement the different components.