Wonderful Waterville

Waterville gets it! I was in Waterville, ME (population 15,605) last week, touring the town after my talk to the Maine Municipal Association in Augusta. It has natural beauty sitting in rolling hills along the Kennebec River. The river and falls, which drove water wheels for power, was the reason for the town’s growth. The town boomed in the 1940s and 1950s, but slid backward when the main industries of textiles, shoes and paper largely moved out of the area. But Waterville is going thru resurgence and is poised to return to its past glory.

First their assets: They’ve got two hospitals, four colleges, a picturesque downtown, the premier film festival of the northeast, international exposure, and a regional approach to economic development. And, they’ve got the human capital with a deep attachment to the town that are trying to make a difference.

We started our tour in the downtown area with Shannon Haines the executive director of Downtown Waterville leading the tour. The downtown has six buildings on the Historical Registry and Shannon is pushing to make the entire downtown a historical district. Urban renewal in the 1970s destroyed one whole block but the remaining multi-block downtown is thriving. Four years ago, before they started their Main Street Program there were several vacancies. Now there are virtually none.

Adjacent to the downtown is the Two Cent Bridge, which was built by the paper mill across the river to link to the downtown. Workers were charged 2 cents to cross, hence the name for the bridge.

The city is developing an outdoor dining area along Main Street. Some residents have been pushing for this project for 20 years. Sometimes it helps to have patience.

Near the downtown is old headquarters for the Hathway Shirt Company. Do you remember their ads with the eye patched man in the Hathway shirt? The company closed its doors and the city ended up with the property. Paul Boghossian, an alumni of Waterville’s Colby College, wants to turn it into the Hathway Creative Center with loft living, offices and public space. The $15 million project would connect to the downtown.

Gina Coppens and Steve Buchsbaum started Let’s Talk Language School, a non-profit school that focuses upon language immersion and cultural learning. They have 170 students enrolled in French, Spanish, German, Italian, Arabic, Chinese and Japanese. They even have a class in Venezuelan Cooking.

The Waterville Film Festival brings in 7,500 people over a 10-day period. It is premier film festival in the northeast.

Colby College is one of the premier liberal arts colleges in the northeast. In a bonus, Waterville residents can audit classes at the college for free!

Stars like Bruce Willis, Eddie Murphy, and Michelle Pfeiffer (she’s married to Waterville native David Kelley) and corporate big-wigs are in town constantly during the summer when they vacation on nearby Belgrade Lakes.

Waterville has it all and with tremendous potential. Tomorrow: How they are tying it all together regionally.