Editing Waterville, Maine (section)

==Economy and redevelopment==

Like many other towns in Maine and in the United States, Waterville has seen development in the suburbs and the decline of the downtown area.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.maine.gov/spo/landuse/pubs/svccenters.php|title=Maine.gov|website=Main.gov|access-date=4 July 2018}}</ref> There have been new businesses and new facilities built by Inland Hospital on Kennedy Memorial Drive. [[Walmart]], [[Home Depot]], and a small strip mall of other stores have been built in the northern part of the city as part of an open-air shopping center. Because of this growth, the existing and now-neighboring Elm Plaza shopping center has recently had its exterior renovated and filled most or all of its previous vacancies.

In contrast, the downtown area has had its share of hardships due to chain store growth in the city. Stores that had a long history in the downtown area have closed in recent decades, including Levine's, Butlers, Sterns, Dunhams, Alvina and Delias, and LaVerdieres. The large vacancy in The Concourse shopping center that once housed the [[Ames Department Stores Inc.|Ames]], [[Zayre]] department store, as well as [[Brooks Pharmacy]] is struggling to find tenants; as is the now vacant Main Street location of a [[CVS Caremark Corporation|CVS]] pharmacy (it moved to a brand new building on Kennedy Memorial Drive).<ref>[http://morningsentinel.mainetoday.com/news/local/4321689.html Marketing the Concourse<br />Waterville's downtown center faces growing challenges<!-- Bot generated title -->] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090520041635/http://morningsentinel.mainetoday.com/news/local/4321689.html |date=2009-05-20 }}</ref> Organizations like Waterville Main St continue their efforts to revitalize downtown. Colby College has built a new dormitory for students on Main Street, and the boutique Lockwood Hotel opened in August 2022. The Paul J. Schupf Art Center is currently under construction.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.centralmaine.com/2021/03/27/work-to-start-monday-on-new-18-million-schupf-art-center-in-downtown-waterville/|title=Work to start Monday on new $18 million Schupf Art Center in downtown Waterville|date=27 March 2021}}</ref>

Developer Paul Boghossian has converted the old Hathaway Mill to retail, office, and residential use.<ref>[http://morningsentinel.mainetoday.com/news/local/3072987.shtml Hathaway center plans to be unveiled tonight at council meeting<!-- Bot generated title -->] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090520041949/http://morningsentinel.mainetoday.com/news/local/3072987.shtml |date=2009-05-20 }}</ref> MaineGeneral Health agreed at the end of June 2007 to become the first tenant.<ref>[http://morningsentinel.mainetoday.com/news/local/4321848.html Urban renewal spurred project<!-- Bot generated title -->] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090519232223/http://morningsentinel.mainetoday.com/news/local/4321848.html |date=2009-05-19 }}</ref>

Waterville's top employers include MaineGeneral Medical Center, Colby College, HealthReach Community Health Centers, Northern Light Inland Hospital, [[Hannaford Brothers Company|Hannaford Supermarket]], [[Shaw's Supermarket]], [[Walmart|Wal-Mart]], Mount St. Joseph Nursing Home, Kennebec Valley Community Action Program, Thomas College, City of Waterville, The Woodlands Residential Care, and [[Morning Sentinel|Central Maine Newspapers]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://midmainechamber.com/cms/our-region/industry/|title=Industry|website=Mid-Maine Chamber of Commerce|language=en-US|access-date=2020-01-28}}</ref>