The Paul J. Schupf Art Center opened in downtown Waterville on Saturday.

About seven years in the past stakeholders in Waterville got here collectively to develop a plan to revitalize the town. On Saturday a key piece of that plan, the $18 million greenback Paul J. Schupf Artwork Middle, opened downtown.

Colby School President David Greene says having a diversified economic system in addition to a spot the place folks need to dwell, work and go to is a part of the imaginative and prescient for the town’s transformation.

“The humanities are part of that. They are not the one half, however a crucial part of all of those efforts to make Waterville an ideal place to dwell and work and the place new companies need to find and achieve success over time,” Greene stated.

Greene says buildings Colby purchased on Important Road years in the past have been developed into an arts collaborative for college kids, students and artists. He says these companies and the Paul J. Schupf Artwork Middle collectively will generate $500,000 in tax income for Waterville annually.

2 hundred million {dollars} is being invested in Waterville’s revitalization, Greene stated. He says builders are coming to construct workforce housing within the outdated mills and new mild manufacturing companies need to find within the metropolis.

“Maine wants many nice cities and Waterville is considered one of them, and investing on this metropolis is a worthy enterprise,” Greene stated.