Capt. Will Fitzgerald, left, and Steve Levesque at Brunswick Landing. Courtesy of MRRA
After 16 years spent guiding the redevelopment of the former Brunswick Naval Air Station, Steve Levesque left his post in as executive director of Midcoast Regional Redevelopment Authority in December to enjoy retirement in Greenville.
Now, less than six months later, Levesque has been tapped once again to help bring life to an old military base.
Levesque’s consulting firm SHL Enterprise Solutions will lead the renovation of Loring Air Force Base in Aroostook County, Gov. Mills announced June 17. Levesque will partner with the Maine Department of Economic & Community Development and the Loring Development Authority of Maine for the project, which will aim to improve economic activity in Limestone and Aroostook County.
“I’ve always loved community and economic development,” said Levesque, who will work to recruit businesses to the former base. “It’s just my thing.”
As a child in Lewiston-Auburn, Levesque saw the devastating economic impact of mills closing down. As an adult, he’s spent his career helping communities rebound from challenges, like the Navy’s decision to leave Brunswick a decade ago.
“SHL Enterprise Solutions was selected to lead the Loring effort as part of a competitive bid process that evaluated bids on a number of factors, including experience and success with similar projects,” said Heather Johnson, commissioner of the Department of Economic & Community Development. “While Loring presents a different challenge than the former Naval Air Station Brunswick, we believe that this initiative will benefit from Steve Levesque’s experience helping make MRRA a national redevelopment success story,”
Brunswick residents feared the departure of the Navy, and their $140 million Brunswick payroll, would cost the town jobs and hurt local businesses, said Kristine Logan, who took over Levesque’s role as executive director of Midcoast Regional Redevelopment Authority. Instead, she said, Brunswick Landing has thrived.
Now, 2,600 employees work for the more than 150 businesses on Brunswick Landing, according to the authority’s 2021 annual report.
“There’s a lot going on at Brunswick Landing right now, which is great,” said Logan, who noted upcoming housing and aerospace projects.
Though the 3,800-acre Loring complex is a distinct property with its own challenges, Levesque said will lean on his experience in Brunswick as he recruits businesses in the agricultural, aerospace and transportation sectors.
“Brunswick was a good success because there was a lot of partnerships and a lot of people working together to make it work,” he said. “That same thing can happen at Loring. I just think with some marketing push and some effort we can create some really neat opportunities and job creation up there.”
“I think there’s a lot of opportunity for Loring to flourish,” Logan agreed. “With Steve’s guidance on the marketing piece, I think they’re going to be pretty successful.”
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