HOULTON, Maine — Economic development officials in the community said recently that despite the closing of a longtime clothing store in the community, the majority of other storefronts in the downtown remain occupied.
Jon McLaughlin, executive director of the Southern Aroostook Development Corporation, a grassroots organization that works to improve the economic base of the region, said that the closing of Town and Country Clothing and Footwear after 93 years was “sad news for the community.”
The owner, Stephen Hutchinson, announced in a written statement earlier this month that the business would close in December after operating since 1923.
McLaughlin said that economic development officials would work to attract the same type of business to the downtown.
“I think we need a similar type of clothing store like that,” he said. “It is a necessary commodity. Hutchinson said he is willing to rent the building out, so there is a possibility of locating such a business there or a new one.
Despite the recent news, McLaughlin believes there is currently only one open storefront in the downtown.
“We recently had The Carlton Project move into the downtown and we had a new lawyer’s office set up there as well,” he said, adding that the area is now a good mix of restaurants, boutiques, retail stores and office space.
“There is no one thing predominant, which is what we are going for,” he said. “We don’t want too much of any one thing.”
At the same time, he said, the town continues to see an interest in citizens who want to live in the downtown, with new apartment space currently being built.
“That is great to see,” he said. “We have apartments on the second and third floors of the buildings. Every downtown needs people living there to be healthy.”
McLaughlin acknowledged that there is still an obvious divide over what type of business can be enticed into Market Square versus the ones that can be located in the other business district off Interstate 95 on North Street.
“That area is for smaller, more niche type businesses, the type that don’t need heavy traffic,” he said. “Real estate on North Street is more expensive and there is not a lot of space there. Most of the businesses that locate there have to build space, so it costs more. I think in this community we have a good mix of retail space in both districts.”
