Penobscot
Landing
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Brewer Plans Revitalization Along River BREWER - Rotting wooden pilings, unsightly commercial structures, scattered debris and trash compete for attention with small, well-manicured parks and riverine sculpture. The city's businesses and homes, once facing Brewer's vibrant waterfront have, over the years, literally turned their backs on the Penobscot River. At the approach of the new millennium, neglect and erosion threaten valuable commercial and recreational property. An effort is now under way to identify ways to clean up Brewer's riverfront and exploit its considerable untapped potential. A long strip along the Penobscot River is targeted for a major revitalization plan. Led by Drew Sachs, Brewer's new director of economic development, the city is recruiting a diverse group of residents and business owners for a 16-member advisory committee to steer the city's river project. Three on the panel are Sachs, City Manager Steve Bost and a yet-to-be-designated city councilor. "The area we're looking at extends from the Parker K. Bailey (moving company) buildings all the way down to the Orrington town line," said Sachs. The 283 parcels of commercial and residential property make the targeted zone more than double the area Bangor is currently redeveloping. "Our first thought is that is we don't deal with the area in a comprehensive manner, we'll be setting ourselves up for failure," said Sachs. Secondly, we may not get to the whole area for years. "In essence, what we're doing by identifying such a large area for redevelopment and improvement is that we're not pre-judging and limiting what the community thinks needs to be done." In 1995 the city conducted a study that confirmed what many in city government, business and the public at large already knew: the river is an underutilized resource with potential for commercial and recreational purposes. Sachs is excited about the positive reception his initial ideas received at a recent City Council meeting. He is also buoyed by meetings with city officials in Bangor. He said both municipalities can make the best, most appropriate use of river resources by working cooperatively. One area of cooperation will be in applying for federal development grants. Sachs believes joint proposals will carry more weight with federal funding agencies, and make awards for river projects more likely. Not everyone in Brewer is happy the city is planning riverfront development, redevelopment and cleanup. J.R. Gould, owner of J.R. Redemption Center is one of them. "They'll do anything on my property over my dead body," he said. Gould's property has about 950 feet on the Penobscot riverfront, and another 1,050 feet along Main Street. The redemption center's offices and customer service area are located in a faded, red metal quonset hut filled to the rafters with bottles, cans and other returnables. Behind the hut, 40-foot storage trailers sit in tall grass and weeds, and at the back of the property, close by the river, sits a pile of boulders. Officials recently tried unsuccessfully to convince Gould to allow the city to build a boardwalk on his riverfront property. "That won't happen as long as I own the property," said Gould. The Parker K. Bailey Moving and Storage Company's Craig Bailey sees the situation in a different light. "We have about 1,000 feet abutting the river," he said. "It's only about 40 feet deep, however. Not enough land to put a house or a commercial building." Bailey's chief interest in the city's future development and beautification schemes centers on efforts to halt erosion on his and other frontage on the Penobscot. "Typically, we lose about two to three inches of shoreline each year," he said. "This year, however, we've lost much more. This may be happening on other people's property as well. If it is, then we won't be starting redevelopment and beautification efforts any too soon." Bailey recently offered his services and hopes to be tapped for a slot on the ad hoc river development committee. He pointed to a city map with the affected portion of the river highlighted. "We're talking about a lot of land. This is a project that could take years." Back at City Hall, Drew Sachs said the redevelopment effort is based on the premise that it isn't just the city involved in the project. "We're going to involve the banks, the business community in Brewer and homeowners to find out what they want to see done. In many cases, this could be as simple as someone who may be planning on improving the façade of their building, but may be looking for guidance as to how it could fit into a community picture." One of the city's first steps in beginning the redevelopment process was to approach the banks about creating a loan pool. "This could fund things like signage along the streets that would have a similar charm and common characteristics." Sachs said someone in the community may be willing to redevelop or sell property, if it was part of a larger strategy. "This is going to be a private/public partnership," he said. Other cities' waterfront redevelopment may offer some interesting ideas for consideration, but Sachs said the city isn't going to adopt another municipality's efforts as a model. "Any plan we choose will be unique to Brewer," he said. "Our goal isn't to re-create what they're doing in Bangor, for instance. But that said, the energy they have over there definitely feeds into the process here." Written by Jim Counihan, Staff Writer, The Weekly, Friday, August 27,
1999.
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The
City of Brewer