CARIBOU, Maine – Economic and community growth have become greater priorities for Caribou leaders the past several years, and 2025 could be a period when many large-scale projects get closer to reality.
This year saw both progress and debate on many of those projects, as city residents and officials considered the best ways to spur community revitalization.
Here is a look back at some of the biggest developments and related challenges Caribou encountered in 2024 and how those projects could shape up in the new year.
Leaving an Industrial Past Behind
Caribou took the first major steps this year toward eventually demolishing the city’s long-defunct power plant, a hindrance to riverfront development goals.
After labeling the massive 12,288-square-foot steam plant a Superfund site, the Environmental Protection Agency removed over 30 tons of asbestos and other hazardous waste this fall. The clean-up cost was $2 million but funded through federal Superfund dollars.
The EPA has since left and the city is now applying for a federal Brownfields grant to dispose of the remaining waste and eventually demolish the steam plant.
In early 2025, Caribou-based County Environmental Engineering will set its sites on the adjacent, 10,290-square-foot diesel plant, which contains 12,220 square feet of asbestos within the roof, 1,400 square feet within window glazing and 600 square feet in floor tiles and mastic.
The city obtained a $900,000 Brownfields grant in 2023 that will fund clean-up efforts at the diesel plant.
Unlike the asbestos within the steam plant, which was “friable” and more vulnerable to air release, the diesel plant’s asbestos is “non-friable” and not as easily released, which prompted the EPA’s quicker actions at the steam plant, said Michelle Hersey, president of County Environmental Engineering, last summer.
The demolition of both plants will give the city major progress toward its goal of redeveloping the area near the Aroostook River for recreational, business and housing opportunities. There have already been early talks about possibly establishing a park and walking/bike trails on and near the power plant site.
A New City Police Station
Debate has surrounded the city’s vision for a new police station from the start, but now officials seem more determined to move forward with the popular but expensive project.
Caribou has been working with the Bangor-based firm Artifex to design a station intended to give officers more space than what is in the current station below city hall.
In December, the majority of councilors voted to let Artifex turn its latest floorplan into a graphic design that the council will need to approve before starting construction.
But several councilors and citizens voiced concern over the current $10.3 million price tag for designing and building the station, and the proposed 11,110-square-foot size, which is similar to police facilities in Waterville and Gorham. Voters agreed in 2022 to let the city borrow no more than $10 million on the project.
Police Chief Corey Saucier later expressed support for Artifex’s proposal, saying that his department needs that amount of space for daily operations and to sustain partnerships with other law enforcement and mental health agencies.
Revamping City Roads
Two partnerships with the Maine Department of Transportation could lead to Caribou reconsidering how to structure its roads to better support future development.
Caribou is one of several Aroostook municipalities that have joined the MaineDOT’s Village Partnership Initiative, which looks at potential road and sidewalk improvements to encourage safety and downtown walkability.
During a December public meeting, the city’s consultant road engineers explained how Caribou’s infamous “downtown loop” could incorporate more two-lane roads that better connect with the rest of downtown and to the riverfront region. They also proposed re-engineering many city streets to include shared lanes for pedestrians and cyclists.
The city will also be pursuing a Planning Partnership Initiative with MaineDOT to explore whether the state could allow for more curb cuts, such as driveways or other access points, along Caribou’s portion of Route 1.
The Caribou Connector was first constructed in 1965 and extended in 2012. It is one of several “controlled access highways” in Maine that limit access points to reduce traffic and safety issues.
This fall, MaineDOT officials seemed receptive to finding ways to increase the number of access points. Doing so could incentivize more commercial and housing developers to build in Caribou, said Troy Haney, who chairs the Caribou Development Committee.
How to Create More Housing
While attending Caribou’s first housing symposium in February, many agreed that Caribou’s assets – a new community school, recreational opportunities, among others – make it well poised to become a sought-after housing community as larger scale business developments spring up in surrounding communities.
But exactly how to create more housing remains an expensive challenge for would-be developers. Plus, the city has not conducted a formal study on what types of housing current and future residents might need most.
In 2024, the city applied for a grant from the Maine Department of Economic and Community Development’s Housing Opportunity Program to fund a housing study.
At the city council’s November meeting, City Manager Penny Thompson said that the city’s application received high scores from the Housing Opportunity Program, putting the city on a conditional list for future contracts with the state for a housing study. Thompson said she awaits further information on the contract.
Tackling Neighborhood Blight
As Caribou looks toward potential new housing, officials must also contend with blighted properties that citizens say threaten the character and wellbeing of neighborhoods.
In 2024, the city oversaw the cleanup of remaining debris at 15 Prospect St., a property long deemed hazardous, and condemned several other problem properties on nearby Collins and Washburn Street.
But in September, code enforcement officer John Gibson resigned after only three months on the job, leaving a void for Caribou, which had searched over a year for a code officer after the retirement of Ken Murchison in 2023.
The city is still seeking qualified applicants for a code enforcement officer and planner, Thompson said during the December city council meeting.
Whoever fills that role will oversee continued efforts to combat blight, including at properties on Water Street and Main Street that succumbed to fires but whose debris remains visible downtown. Thompson said she is exploring whether a property like 7 Water St. which burned in early 2023, could be eligible for federal Brownfields funding.
Reviving Caribou Pond
A major waterway is close to once again being a recreational fishing hub.
For over 30 years, lack of maintenance has caused the dam in Caribou Pond, formerly known as Collins Mill Pond, to decay and the water has virtually dried up. The dam once helped brook trout travel through the pond and Caribou Stream on their way to the Aroostook River.
Caribou’s Parks & Recreation Department will use $4.5 million in congressionally directed spending and $60,000 from a parks and recreation reserve account to build a 4- to 5-foot deep fishway in hopes of repopulating the pond and stream with brook trout.
The city has received the federal funds but needs to complete environmental permitting before building the fishway. If all goes well, construction could start in 2025, said Parks & Recreation Superintendent Gary Marquis.
Expanding Library Services
Caribou Public Library is set to become a technology hub thanks to a state grant.
The library will use $1.8 million from the Maine Connectivity Authority to extend the loft, creating a full second story with new conference room equipment and private telehealth appointment areas. The first floor will see additional computer workspaces.
Those additions will help meet local demand for digital-based services, said Library Director Peter Baldwin in July.
The city recently put out a request for contractors to bid on the project, Thompson said.
