The Transformation (Gentrification?) of Route 1

It is most evident in the stretch of Route 1 between Route 175 and Route 100. Icons of the past have been replaced with shiny new projects. The Copper Stallion Motel has been demolished to make way for a medical office building and the former Aladdin Mobile Home Park is now a mixed use development called Howard Square. The workingman’s roadhouse, Three Nines Tavern has been razed and is now a development opportunity. Next to what once was a thriving flea market, the 85 acre Blue Stream development (pictured above) is well underway.

After eleven years of preparation, the Route 1 Revitalization effort has finally begun, changing the face and character of one of HoCo’s more colorful corridors.

There’s much more to come too.

In this two mile section of Route 1 alone there are at least twenty pink signs marking proposed changes for the comprehensive zoning process, making it one the highest concentrations of  zoning amendments in the county. In all, there are over 40 proposed changes within the HoCo borders of the 2,377 mile highway that begins at the Canadian border in Fort Kent and ends in Key West.