Hermon's Freedom Park
for Commerce and Industry:
30 Years of Triumph of a
Private Industrial Park
by L. L. Legume
Freedom
Park for Commerce and Industry, in Hermon, has survived, succeeded, and even
triumphed as a private industrial park spite of aggressive competition
from publicly-subsidized industrial parks in the greater Bangor area and
beyond. As the struggling underdog, Freedom Park has succeed by offering a
wide array of real estate products and services, at very competitive prices to all inquirers. “We have taken a lot of
risks with a lot of dynamic people and their high-risk projects, but in the
long run we have come out on top," noted Dr. Bernie Dahl, the developer of Freedom Park. “We have quietly enjoyed great success by
hard work, by giving great value, by creating innovative deals, and by staying
close to our fellow venturers at Freedom Park”, he added.
The
103-acre initial site, in Hermon, just over the Bangor city line, was
purchased in 1976. In 1977 seven men stood in an open field along Route 2 in
Hermon to dedicate a new private commercial and industrial park, Freedom Park for Commerce and Industry. Freedom Park was the vision, the dream, of Bernhoff Dahl, M.D., co-founder and President of Dahl-Chase Pathology
Associates. The development of an
industrial park was quite a giant leap away from the practice of pathology,
but Dr. Dahl wanted to invest some of the group’s earning locally.
Having grown up in a family of a successful real estate developers, Dahl felt
comfortable with the task. In spite of the additional burden of competing with
Federal and State-subsidized public industrial parks, he felt that the
potential growth of eastern Maine would support friendly competition...and
success.
Over
the ensuing decades Freedom Park has indeed met the competition and has
enjoyed considerable
success. Today 74 businesses,
housed in 56 buildings, have heeded the call of the Parks’ motto, “Free
Enterprise is Working Here!!” While businesses in the sectors of
transportation & warehousing and
industrial & commercial support services tend to predominate, there is a
wide range of ventures from Otis Elevators to PathQuest (a management
consulting service).
The
success of Freedom Park may be based on the original Strategic Plan: to offer
the widest possible range of products/service aptly named “Land and Space”, to
meet the needs of virtually all prospective businesses. Developed sites from a
one-half acre site to a parcel of
24 acres have been sold over the years. A number of sites have been leased on
short-term contracts, such as with the Northeast and Maritime Pipeline.
Offices, warehouses, and manufacturing facilities have been built and leased.
Leases with an option-to-buy have been offered and several, including
to Roadway Express and Furniture Medic, and both have purchased their
facilities. Build-to-suit services have been successful for companies
like UniShip Couriers and Exide Battery Company.
Since
the inception of Freedom Park, business “incubator space” has been
available for new or expanding ventures. For industrial ventures, Enterprise
Zone 19 was developed in 1979, while for commercial ventures, The Freedom
Office Center was started back in 1980. Countless new ventures occupied these
incubators; some succeeded,
others were purchased or merged, and a few have failed.
In
addition to offering a wide range of real estate “products”, the success
of Freedom Park is, no doubt, linked to other factors, such as its location
near I-95, I-395, and the Bangor International Airport, as well as Hermon’s low tax rate, about half that of neighboring Bangor and Brewer.
The
relationship of Freedom Park with the officials (individuals and committees)
and citizens of the Town of Hermon is another key factor in the quiet success
of the Park. The “return-on-investment” on several cost-sharing
infra-structure projects for Hermon has been astronomical since the real
estate and personal property taxes coupled with vehicle excise taxes collected
from Freedom Park ventures over the years have totaled over ten million
dollars.
The
message of the original Dedication Ceremony in 1977 still apply today. Freedom
Park is dedicated to:
In
1977, Dr. Dahl closed the Dedication Ceremony by giving each of the
participants a shoe polish kit and a wipe cloth to clean their muddy shoes.
Today, on that same spot sits Maine Trailer Sales, one of the most successful
full-service trailer companies on the Eastern seaboard.
As
the “business development” rhetoric from Augusta echoes around the state,
more and more
towns and cities are raising revenues, and going deep into debt to build their
own industrial parks. Every local government wants to get its share of the
dwindling commercial, and especially industrial, tax resources, as other better and more aggressively-organized states,
and foreign countries draw away business.
In
spite of old competitors and new, highly subsidized, debt-laden, and
ill-conceived projects entering the marketplace, Freedom Park, which has no
debt, will continue to succeed.
Business
adventurers are invited to visit and investigate Freedom Park for Commerce and
Industry in Hermon , a great place to start, relocate, or expand you own
venture. Come join us, work with us, and soar to greater heights with us!
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Freedom Park 30th Anniversary page>
