9/15/2011 - FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 15, 2011
City/Portland Regional Chamber/Creative Portland Unveil Comprehensive Economic Development Plan for Portland

The Portland City Council's Community Development Committee unanimously endorses plan to grow city's economy.

PORTLAND, Maine - Last night, the City Council's Community Development Committee (CDC), comprised of City Councilors Cheryl Leeman (chair), John Anton, and Dory Waxman, unanimously endorsed the city's Economic Development Vision and Plan. Their action followed the unanimous endorsement on Monday by the Portland Community Chamber, who partnered with the city and the Creative Portland Corporation in the funding and creation of the Plan. The Vision and Plan sets economic development goals designed to create economic prosperity through the growth of the city's tax and employment base by building upon Portland's strengths, its quality of life, creative economy, local assets and opportunities for expansion.

"The recession was the sounding bell for the city to start looking at what's next for growth, and this vision and plan sets the course," stated CDC Chair Leeman. "The report should not be viewed as a city plan, but rather a Portland plan as it was a collaborative effort with local businesses and organizations equally invested in the city's success. By pulling our oars in the same direction, we are setting the stage for success both in the coming years and decades out.

“The Portland Community Chamber has long had a goal of creating a comprehensive economic development strategy for the City. This plan will guide Portland toward an increasingly prosperous future. We are excited to begin implementing the plan and look forward to measurable success,” said Michael Bourque, President of the Portland Community Chamber.

The Portland Economic Development Vision and Plan outlines a series of strategies and initiatives to pursue in the next two years including: establishing a visitation program to obtain feedback from the business community on areas of concern and address them in a timely manner; market and promote as well as expand commercial loan and other business financial incentive programs to leverage and support business retention; target certain business sectors such as finance, insurance, life science, food production, marine, arts, and tourism that were identified through research to locate or expand within the city; determine feasibility of establishing a facility to house local artists; and recognize and support arts and cultural-related venues and organizations by developing "how to" resources.

Eighteen months ago, the CDC joined with the Portland Community Chamber and the Creative Portland Corporation and established a task force to work in partnership with the Downtown Portland Corporation, Portland Downtown District and other local business leaders in developing a comprehensive plan with both short and long term strategies designed to grow the city's economy, enrich the creative economy and support local businesses. Kicking off the process, the task force worked with an MIT Graduate Class to prepare an economic profile and preliminary strategy, which served as the foundation of Portland's Vision and Economic Plan. Then throughout the past year, the task force met to review past economic development reports, discuss various economic development strategies, held meetings with the public for their input and consulted a variety of stakeholders, while utilizing social media to engage groups that do not typically participate in city projects to ensure that the plan was well rounded and inclusive.

The Economic Development Vision and Plan will be considered by the full at City Council at their October 3, 2011 meeting. Visit the city's website, http://portlandmaine.gov/citymanagers/pedplan.asp, to view the plan.

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Nicole Clegg
Director of Communications
City of Portland
389 Congress Street, Room 208
Portland, ME 04101
office: 207-756-8173
cell: 207-272-4477

Laura LeBrun Duplissis
Marketing and Communications Manager
Portland Regional Chamber
60 Pearl Street
Portland, ME 04101
207-772-2811, Ext. 234