Moosehead Lake region studies how it can attract more people
What makes the Moosehead Lake region worth a visit? Why is it a great place in which to live, or even build business?
A group of local business and government leaders is trying to answer those questions, and get the message out.
In October, the Moosehead Lake Regional Economic Development Corp. hired Peoria, Ariz.-based consultant Roger Brooks to develop a branding strategy for the region. Working with a group of 17 residents, he will create a branding guide that business owners, town officials, and nonprofit agencies can use to recruit tourists, residents and businesses. It's due out in April.
“The hope is that by having one common message, we can increase visitation and investment in the region,” said EDC board member John Simko. “I think this effort has some legs, and we can come up with a plan that will transform the area for decades ahead.”
The Moosehead Lake region, which is 80 minutes from Bangor, and 2.5 hours from Portland, is home to about 3,000 year-round residents. Simko estimates that it doubles in the summer as tourists and second-home owners flock there to hike, camp, paddle, and mountain bike, and again in the winter, when they come to ski, go ice fishing, or snowmobiling.
But up until now, the jigsaw of municipal boundaries has made it a challenge to develop a singular sense of identity. The region, which the EDC defines as a 25-mile radius from the center of Moosehead Lake, is made up of different municipalities. It is bisected by the border between Piscataquis and Somerset counties. Even the Maine Office of Tourism designates the area as two regions: the Maine Highlands and the Kennebec Valley.
In September 2013, this regional economic development group was formed, so area business leaders could formally work together.
“Finally having a group that wasn't tied to those jurisdictions was a big piece of it,” said Simko, who is also Greenville's town manager.
They hope the branding effort will help jump-start an economy that has been slowly recovering from the recession. Construction of new homes, second homes in particular, flourished in 2005 and 2006 as the national real estate market boomed. But when the market crashed, so did the local economy. People stopped building vacation homes and second-home owners visited less often. As a result, sales dried up at restaurants, pubs, hardware stores and groceries. But some say they see new signs of life.
“Real estate sales have picked up in the last year, and it feels like good things are really starting to happen,” said EDC board member Joe DiAngelo, owner of Century 21 Moose Country Real Estate. “People are starting to feel confident again.”
Simko was encouraged by reports from the Maine Real Estate and Development Association of a rebound in Portland's industrial market. “We're hopeful that the same people who are signing commercial leases in Portland will be buying second homes here,” he said.
Correction: A previous version of this story incorrectly referred to Simko as EDC's president.
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