Biddeford, Maine

B IDDEFORD , MA INE Campus is a vibrant community where hundreds of businesses and people work and live side by side on 17 acres. “Then, there’s a project called Riverdam Mill, which is one of the real pristine sites on Saco Falls,” Eddy adds. “It’s under construction, right now. There’s a distillery, a brewery, there’s going to be a restaurant on the river, and 70 market- rate apartment units. It’s a joint development project between the community and the owners. We put together a Tax Increment Financing proposal to support them in the first ten years; we obtained brownfield money to do the demolition of a corner of the building that was deemed unsafe; and we have worked with them to get through the permitting process.” As part of the 330,000-sq.-ft. Riverdam Mill project, the city has retained permanent easements to the land between the building and the river wall to expand the RiverWalk, which will open up public access to the river and provide necessary pedestrian connections through the downtown. Main Street, Lincoln Street, and the Saco River. Today, the District includes about two million square feet of mill space that is the process of being repurposed into an “urban village” comprised of residential, commercial, and industrial uses, thousands of parking spaces, as well as a brand new RiverWalk along the banks of the Saco River. “We have a number of owners, all of whom are working on projects,” Eddy continues. “And the fellow that deserves most of the credit is Doug Sanford; he owned two mill complexes – the North Dam Mill Complex and the Pepperell Mill Complex. Doug has developed both of those complexes into a combination of residential and business uses. He has about 700,000 square feet to go; some of it is the best space along the river.” The North Dam Mill is a three- building complex that once was an electric blanket factory, and, today, houses more than 150 residential and commercial tenants from woodworkers to bookbinders. The Pepperell Mill