Stretching from the lower falls of the Saco River to the Maine coast, the City of Biddeford is poised between a hardscrabble past and a hopeful future. An old mill city of 22,000 that is located 15 miles south of Portland, Biddeford uses a unique brand of alchemy to turn old factories into new economies, old conflicts into new alliances, old identities into a new vision for growth and survival.

Biddeford’s cultural and economic roots are tied fast to the mill industry and its future may be as well. The mainstay textile companies decamped for the South decades ago and for many years the City had been down on its luck, with declining population, few job opportunities and an empty, decaying downtown. Biddeford’s historic brick mill structures—once filled with dusty looms and steaming dye vats—remained, omnipresent ghosts of a lost economy and a bygone era.

Biddeford’s hard-working residents are now reviving and reinventing their legacy. A slate of programs and redevelopment efforts are breathing new life into the shells of factories and streetscapes and attracting new residents who are taking advantage of Biddeford’s affordable rents and real estate. Shedding its image as the poor sister to surrounding towns, Biddeford is building a creative economy, re-establishing its Main Street, and unifying parts of the community that have become distinct and isolated: the mill district and the City center; vacation properties that stretch along the coastline; and the University of New England’s fast-growing campus.

One of the four communities selected for the Foundation’s first Heart & Soul Community Planning initiative, Biddeford is poised to begin a new Downtown Master Planning process and redevelop nearly one million square feet of mill space. Under the direction of Heart of Biddeford, a non-profit Main Street organization, and in partnership with the City of Biddeford, this two-year project seeks to unite Biddeford’s residents, restore pride in the community’s historical legacy, and set the stage for a vibrant future.

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