KENNEBUNK, Maine — Stephen Houdlette, the town’s new director of economic vitality, remembers the first time he experienced the joy and satisfaction that happens when a community succeeds in boosting its economy.
It was a little after the recession in 2009. Houdlette served as a senior economic development associate for the City of Somerville, Massachusetts, at the time. An envelope factory went under, and, all of a sudden, the city had a huge industrial space that needed a new life. Everyone was wondering what to do with the place.
In his profession, Houdlette had established a relationship with a “makerspace,” consisting of people of shared interests in engineering, technology, computing, and other related areas. Through those connections, the factory started to revive with new businesses – a development that sparked surrounding growth too. An existential threat to the area…
