BRUNSWICK

For 20 years, Brunswick Development Corporation has worked to spur economic development in town through grants and loans to local businesses. Now, a year after obtaining nonprofit status, the organization is kicking into high gear as it enters a new phase.

Nonprofit status was approved by the Internal Revenue Service in early 2017. As a result, Brunswick Development has gained more independence from the town of Brunswick, and has more fundraising potential.

“I think there’s an amazing resource here, and we are trying to launch it again and make it more visible in the community,” said Linda Smith, the town’s economic development director.

“Historically, the BDC has sought to invest in Brunswick businesses in order to fulfill its mission for increased employment and tax base within the town,” Brunswick Development President Larissa Darcy stated in a press release.

Darcy noted how Brunswick Development investments have helped local businesses hire more people, including:

• Gelato Fiasco, which has grown from its launch with its two owners in 2007 to 44 employees;

• Frosty’s Donuts, which has grown from a base of four in 2012 to 27 employees;

• 128 Maine Street (affiliated with Artforms and Cool As A Moose), which relocated from Westbrook to Brunswick in 2012 and has grown from 26 to 32 full-time employees.

In addition, Smith noted how Brunswick Development assisted Moderation Brewing with extra funding to complete construction of the new business.

“If you have a project and you want a little less risk exposure, the BDC would be willing to come in and be a partner on the loan,” Smith said.

In the past, Brunswick Development had issued large grants, including $250,000 to Brunswick Downtown Association, which used it to leverage $800,000 in downtown facade improvements at a handful of businesses.

The grant program will continue, but on a smaller scale. Smith said grants will likely range from $1,000- $15,000, and require a one-toone match.

There will now be two rounds of grant applications annually, and the next is due Monday.

A sometimes-rocky history

Brunswick Development Corporation was originally funded with a $1.7 million loan from the town in 1995. It initially purchased land at Business Parkway and built the Brunswick Technologies building. Later, Brunswick Development sold the building for $3.1 million and paid back the town’s investment. It then used the rest of its profit to establish a pool from which it has continued to lend money to other town businesses for expansion.

Smith said Brunswick Development Corp.’s mission has always been broad, calling for reduced taxes, and the elimination of slum and blight. For example, the corporation purchased and demolished houses on Stanwood Street to provide space for the current police station.

“So everything they’ve done since they were born fits within their mission perimeters,” Smith said, “and I think there was a point in time when they were doing more around the municipal interface around economic development.”

Smith noted Brunswick Development Corp. ran into controversy in 2013 when it granted Brunswick Taxi a 100 percent forgivable loan.

It was something in which people were uncomfortable, Smith said, and “flew in the face of what people think is common sense maybe.”

Criticism also stemmed from the fact that the loan was granted to the spouse of one of its recent board members.

In late 2013, the corporation changed its bylaws so that it had a majority of citizens rather than town officials on its board going forward. When she started and helped the organization reshape itself, Smith said, it had expended a good part of its portfolio and wanted to become a more traditional loan and grant organization.

dmoore@timesrecord.com

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