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Downtown’s Next Big Data Project is Taking Shape |
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| Earlier this summer, we introduced the Downtown Property Inventory Assessment and began searching for someone to lead its data collection. Since then, we have welcomed Maddy as our project coordinator, and she has been steadily building the foundation for the work ahead. Her first task has been to research each of the 272 parcels within our designated downtown district, bringing together the publicly available property information that currently exists. It is detailed work happening largely behind the scenes, but it is an essential first step toward understanding how downtown buildings and spaces are being used today. Next, Maddy will begin reaching out to property owners to verify what we have learned and gather the context that public records cannot provide. These conversations will help us better understand current building uses, vacancies, underutilized spaces, and the goals, challenges, and opportunities owners see for their properties. Together, this research and outreach will create a more complete picture of downtown Ellsworth and help identify opportunities for housing, business growth, historic preservation, and future investment. |
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| | | Opportunities & Resources to Know |
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| Grants can be an appealing way to fund a business improvement or new idea, but they are rarely designed to cover general startup costs, operating expenses, or broad business expansion. Most grant programs are created to advance a specific goal, such as improving a downtown building, increasing energy efficiency, developing new technology, creating jobs, supporting workforce development, or strengthening agriculture and the arts. A recent article from the Maine Small Business Development Centers offers a practical look at where grants exist and what businesses should consider before applying. Many programs are highly competitive, require matching funds, and work best as one part of a broader financing plan that may also include revenue, owner investment, or loans. If you are considering a grant, begin by defining the project you want to complete, what it will cost, and what your business can contribute. A clear project makes it much easier to recognize a funding opportunity that genuinely fits. |
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| The Downtown Ellsworth Asset Map is the final report that grew from Manifesting Main, a community effort that brought residents, business and building owners, City leaders and local partners together to look closely at what downtown already has and imagine what it might become. The distinction matters because the report was never intended to mark the end of that conversation. It gathered the observations, hopes and ideas shared through Manifesting Main so they could continue informing what happens next. Over the next few months, Heart of Ellsworth will use the Asset Map to reopen pieces of that conversation through posts exploring its findings, maps and Big Ideas. Some ideas are already taking shape, while others remain longer term possibilities worth considering together. This is not the announcement of a new planning process or a promise that every idea will move forward. It is an effort to make the community’s work more visible and give more people a meaningful way into the conversation. Business and building owners understand downtown through daily experience, which makes your perspective especially valuable as this series unfolds. We hope you will revisit the Asset Map, consider what still resonates and share what you believe deserves another look. |
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| Group tours can create a different kind of visitor opportunity: planned stops, several customers arriving together, and exposure to travelers who may not have found your business on their own. The Maine Office of Tourism is offering personalized support to help Maine businesses understand what it takes to welcome these groups successfully. Group tour specialist Chiara Moriconi can visit your business, learn about what you offer, and share practical guidance for creating an experience that works well for both your team and visiting groups. She also works directly with tour operators and can help raise the visibility of businesses that are prepared to welcome them. This may be worth exploring for retailers, restaurants, attractions, cultural organizations, and experience based businesses that could offer groups a memorable stop. You do not need to have everything figured out before reaching out. The site visit is designed to help you understand what group readiness looks like and what opportunities may be possible. |
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| Heart of Ellsworth was one of three established small business accelerator sites nationwide selected to receive a $25,000 Operational Support Grant through The Hartford Small Business Accelerator Grant Program, presented in partnership with Main Street America. The funding will help the Makerspace at 16 State Street expand its role as a place where artists, makers, and creative professionals can earn income, strengthen the business behind their work, and explore what their next step could look like. For us, supporting small business is not limited to businesses that already have a storefront. It also means investing in people who are building the skills, audience, confidence, and financial foundation to reach that point. By expanding our community workshop schedule, we will be able to pay more local artists to share their expertise while introducing new audiences to their work. Beginning next year, the grant will also support Business of Craft, an annual six week class series created specifically for artists and makers. The program will offer practical guidance for turning creative skills into sustainable income and building a stronger creative business. This is what a small business accelerator focused on culture can make possible. Artists are paid for their work, the community gains more opportunities to experience local creativity, and emerging entrepreneurs have a place to grow before taking on the expense of a permanent storefront. Some may eventually become the next tenants on Main Street, bringing new ideas, energy, and opportunity into downtown Ellsworth. |
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| | | Commercial Spaces Available in Downtown |
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| | Downtown Ellsworth has space for what is next. From small offices to full buildings ready for new owners, there are opportunities for businesses looking to grow, relocate, or invest locally. |
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24 Church Street Available Sept 1. Standalone office building for lease in downtown Ellsworth.Single-story, ADA accessible property. Shared parking with BMV, up to twenty-three (23) spaces. 207.772.1333 |
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415 Water Street Private office spaces available. If you’re looking for something more permanent than their co-work desks, pop them a note. |
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| | | | Listed for Sale: 108 Main Street 2-4 State Street 66 Main Street |
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| | | | | | | | Marketing Tip From Chesnee |
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| | Posting something does not mean your followers will automatically see it. Facebook and Instagram feeds move quickly, and a post can be pushed down by recommended content, paid promotions, and everything else competing for attention. Sharing that post to your Story gives it another place to be seen, right at the top of the app, for the next 24 hours. |
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| I recently started using Heart of Ellsworth’s Instagram and Facebook Stories more intentionally to reshare content from downtown businesses and partner organizations. This gives us a simple way to feature others more often while helping timely updates travel beyond their existing audiences. Heart of Ellsworth recently reached 6,000 followers on Facebook, and our Story consistently reach more than 100 views since we started this effort. That is more opportunities for someone to notice your special, event, new product, menu, class, opening, or reminder. Here is the part where I need businesses to help: And yes, I am going to say it again: post on Instagram. When your Instagram account and Facebook Page are connected through Meta Business Suite, you can publish on Instagram and share the same content to Facebook. This makes it much easier for us to pull your post into both of our Stories, and the content usually presents more cleanly across both platforms. If Facebook is your primary platform, share the post to your own Facebook Story, especially when it contains multiple images. Facebook posts with several images do not carry into Stories in a way that we can easily reshare. When the post is already in your Story, we have a much better opportunity to pass it along. We have turned on notifications for the downtown businesses we know are active on Instagram, and we are making a real effort to catch what you share. Tagging us or sending the post directly gives us one more chance to see it. Our goal is to help it travel. This does not replace the larger business features we share on our main feed. It gives us a more consistent and equitable way to keep downtown visible as a whole. Businesses that post regularly will naturally appear more often because there is more current content available for us to amplify. The takeaway is simple: do not let one post do only one job. Put it on Instagram. Share it to Facebook. Add it to your Stories. Tag us. That small habit moves your content back to the top of your followers’ feeds and gives us the opportunity to put it in front of ours. |
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