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Town of Orono

Planning and Economic Development
Photo of Orono Maine
Changing colors around a pond
Photo of Orono Maine
Orono's Monument Square, circa 1908
Photo of Orono Maine
A tree house sits idle in winter
 

Economic Development

Orono - A Job Center

Orono is part of the Bangor metropolitan area and, as home to the University of Maine, is a job center in its own right.  More than 6,300 people work in Orono, including the University (2,400 employees), senior housing and student residential facilities, industrial concerns such as Shaw & Tenney (wooden oars and paddles), Byer Manufacturing (outdoor recreational and camping furniture) and Lane Construction, and the retail-hotel-service districts in Downtown Orono and along the Stillwater Ave. corridor off Exit 193 of Interstate 95.

The Maine Tech Industrial Park off Exit 193 is home to a variety of office-based and R&D businesses, including the Target Technology Center and its incubator, a joint venture between the Bangor Target Area Development Corporation and the University of Maine.

The Orono Economic Development Corporation was established in 2000 to assist in the financing and development of a modern call center -- now occupied by Nexxlinx -- in the Maine Tech Industrial Park.  OEDC is in the midst of developing new opportunities with which it can assist.  OEDC tracks major properties available in Orono.

Development Opportunities

Maine Technology Industrial Park:  Several development opportunities remain in the Maine Tech Industrial Park. 

Kelley Road Business Park:  The Town has begun engineering, design, and permitting of a 30-acre business park at Exit 191 of I-95, just off Kelley Road -- a high visibility site one exit north of the Bangor Mall area.   The Kelley Road Business Park Advisory Committee is guiding the process.  Follow the work at http://krbp.ces-maine.com.  

  • Advisory Committee members include:  Andy Perkins, representing Orono Economic Development Corporation, Chair; Sharon Quinn Fitzgerald, representing Kelley Rd. homeowners; Leyton Sewall, representing larger property owners in the area; Michael Goldberg, representing Page Place neighborhood; Steve Colburn, representing Sailor Development neighborhood; Daivd Thompson, representing Town Trails Committee and Orono Land Trust; Lianne Harris, representing Town Council.

Contact Evan Richert, Town Planner, for more information on development and business opportunities in Orono.