Come learn about Portland’s economic growth in the East End over the last ten years, including the public-private sector partnerships which support it. In 2004, the Portland City Council approved a plan for the eastern waterfront of the city that proposed a new street grid, redevelopment of the old Portland Company site, and a mix of uses and buildings to integrate with the historic fabric of the area. Since that time, the City has completed new zoning for the area, and a new Comprehensive Plan that sets a framework for growth. Hear from City officials about how this work proceeded from planning, to action, to partnership, and how the City continues to work to manage the impacts of development through innovative strategies to manage mobility, parking and quality of life issues.Make plans now to join MEREDA on April 10, 2019 from 7:30 AM – 9:00 AM at the Clarion Hotel in Portland.


About the Panelists:

Jeff Levine

, AICP, has been involved with land use and economic development planning on the local and regional level for 20 years. In Portland, he has built a team that has led projects such as Portland’s Plan 2030; development of a form-based code for the India Street neighborhood; creation of an inclusionary housing ordinance and robust Housing Trust; and other changes to operations and local ordinances to promote a sustainable city. Before coming to Portland, he was the Director of Planning & Community Development for Brookline, MA, where he managed the completion of the town’s award-winning Comprehensive Plan and a public realm plan for the Route 9 corridor into Boston. Previously, he worked as the Director of Transportation & Long Range Planning for the City of Somerville, MA, and as a regional planner for the Cape Cod Commission. A New England native, he has been involved in a number of land use transformations, including the redevelopment of the Assembly Square district in Somerville; planning for the introduction of a new light rail transit line in Somerville; and redevelopment of John Kennedy’s boyhood church into a mixed-income housing development in Brookline. Jeff has also been involved in Metropolitan Planning Organizations in Boston, on Cape Cod, and in Portland. Jeff is an adjunct faculty member at the Muskie School of Public Service, and was previously an adjunct at Tufts University, at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, and at the APA Planning Leadership Institute. He has a degree in economic development planning from the University of Minnesota and an undergraduate degree from Wesleyan University.

Greg Mitchell has over thirty-five years of economic development work experience in public and private sectors including non-profit organizations located in South Florida and throughout Maine. He has been the Economic Development Director for the City of Portland for ten years. His present work involves business recruitment and retention, advocacy of business interests in City government, marketing, lead negotiator with economic development projects and City real estate transactions.  Greg has degrees in business administration and economics from Norwich University and Florida Atlantic University.


Registering for this Event:

Your RSVP is requested by April 3, 2019. Payment is expected at the time of registration. No refunds will be granted  to anyone who registers, but fails to attend or who cancels after April 3, 2019.

Ticket Prices:

Members: $45 each | Non-Members: $55 each
Prices increase by $10 after April 3, 2019

Visit www.mereda.org to register.