Colby College
IN-24: Innovation A

In 2015, Colby forged partnerships to invigorate downtown Waterville into a vibrant, pedestrian-friendly district. With renovations underway to house new businesses, a new center for community spaces, retail, a boutique hotel and eatery in planning, and residences for students and faculty completed in 2018,, Colby’s investments are inspiring others and creating a sustainable economy in downtown Waterville. Colby completely renovated a building at 173 Main Street that is now home to CGI, an information technology company that partnered with Colby to move to Waterville. CGI plans to bring 200 high-tech jobs into downtown Waterville. The mixed use building also houses Colby offices and the Portland Pie Co. Adjacent buildings to 173 Main Street are also being renovated by private developers, which is driving renewed activity in the heart of Waterville’s Main Street. A 100,000-square-foot, five-story mixed-use development opened in 2018 and now houses about 200 Colby students and faculty on the upper floors. The ground floor hosts the Chace Community Forum, a public meeting space, and new retail spaces on the first floor. Reimagining downtown Waterville creates an opportunity to integrate the arts into downtown, such as through outdoor public art installations. Novel programming could also bring exciting events to animate and activate the front door to downtown. Though significant changes in industry left their impact on downtown, it still has many buildings of great historic and aesthetic value. Colby, Waterville and its partners are now leveraging these valuable assets to transform the city center. Through a partnership between Colby College and the Central Maine Growth Council (CMGC), Waterville will soon have free wireless in public spaces downtown, making access to the Internet available to all. The investment is designed to support local businesses and attract new ones, enhance the quality of life for residents and visitors to downtown, and help to make Waterville even more of a destination. The focus on long-term economic growth—attracting jobs to Waterville, supporting existing and local businesses, and investment by Colby and many others in the downtown—is starting to pay off. People are increasingly choosing to live in Waterville, with Waterville’s population rising to its highest level since 1997. The residential real estate market in Waterville, long lagging, has started to show the effects of these economic booster shots, with single-family home sales on the increase and the price of those homes on the rise.

https://www.colby.edu/news/2017/02/21/in-waterville-the-alfond-foundation-and-colby-college-leading-efforts-to-build-the-stem-workforce-in-maine/ https://www.colby.edu/news/2018/03/29/downtown-development-adds-jobs-money-to-area/ https://www.colby.edu/news/2018/05/08/free-wireless-will-make-watervilles-downtown-among-most-connected-in-maine/