BANGOR, Maine — On Wednesday morning, the Bangor Region Chamber of Commerce held an Early Bird Breakfast discussion. Eggs, Bacon, and a conversation about the Bangor and Brewer Riverfronts.
The two cities Directors of Economic Development led the discussion. Tayna Emery of Bangor and D'arcy Main-Boyington of Brewer gave a brief history of the riverfront and the cities' plans for the future.
“It’s been part of our economy for hundreds of years, it’s part of the way of life for this area," Emery said.
The two riverwalks have seen great improvement in recent years. Restaurants like High Tide and Mason's in Brewer, and Sea Dog in Bangor taking advantage of the riverfront property.
New lights, new fences, and security cameras make the trails safe for all runners, bikers, or joggers.
“For both businesses, they want to be in a place that has a great quality of life and residents and employees want to be in places that have great things to do," Emery added.
On the Bangor side, the riverfront will have construction vehicles for the foreseeable future. The Waterfront Concert venue is adding more permanent structures, and a new sewage treatment project is a two-year ordeal.
“We certainly understand people don’t like having the waterfront disrupted however this infrastructure is so important. It’s what keeps our waterways clean it’s what keeps our communities healthy," Emery said.
Across the river, Brewer is ready to add new changes to its side of the Penobscot.
“We’re currently working on a fitness trail so we’d be putting fitness stations along the currently existing Riverwalk trail so folks can exercise more than walking biking or running," Main-Boyington said.
Main-Boyington hopes to see the fitness trail completed by this summer. The city is also planning for new businesses to move into some of the open riverfront properties.
“We’re really certain that within the next couple of years we’ll have some very big projects coming given all the interest we have right now," she added.
The cities may be independent, but not on this project. Both Bangor and Brewer are working together on the trail system.
“[The future] will further unite those waterfronts and bring them together. So there isn’t a Bangor side and a Brewer side, it’s our waterfront," President and CEO of the Bangor Region Chamber of Commerce Deb Newman said.