Colby College is set to establish the Center for Resilience and Economic Impact along the waterfront of Port Clyde, Maine, marking a significant step in community recovery and academic engagement. The initiative follows a destructive fire in September 2023 that devastated key structures in the town’s downtown area. On November 21, 2025, the College finalized a real estate transaction that includes the acquisition of several historic properties: the Seaside Inn, The Barn, the Squid Ink building, and the site formerly occupied by the Port Clyde General Store. This development was made possible through a generous contribution from longtime residents Dan and Sheryl Tishman, who have supported the project via their NorthLight Foundation, an organization focused on environmental sustainability, land preservation, and climate resilience.\n\nThe new interdisciplinary research center, scheduled to become operational in 2026, will serve as a collaborative hub for students, scholars, and local stakeholders. It aims to address challenges related to environmental disruptions, economic instability, and public health emergencies by integrating insights from science, economics, and policy. Provost Denise Bruesewitz emphasized the importance of cross-sector partnerships in fostering sustainable community development, noting that such efforts require coordinated expertise to guide recovery and long-term planning. She highlighted the center’s role in offering hands-on learning experiences for students while supporting regional resilience strategies.\n\nPlans for the property redevelopment include reconstructing a building on the footprint of the former general store. The new structure will feature a ground-floor restaurant and upper-level facilities for the center, including office space and areas designated for public gatherings and collaborative work. The Barn, located across from the original store site, will continue functioning as a seasonal bar and community venue. The Seaside Inn, a 12-room building dating back to 1847, will be preserved and repurposed to accommodate visiting researchers and student interns conducting fieldwork in the region. Additionally, operations at the Squid Ink building are expected to resume in 2026, maintaining active use of the waterfront.\n\nMaggie Drummond-Bahl ’98, executive director of the NorthLight Foundation, expressed enthusiasm about the project’s progress, underscoring its potential to rejuvenate Port Clyde’s waterfront as a center of civic life and to extend support to other Maine communities facing similar challenges. The center will also host educational events such as lectures and workshops, and offer student research internships, further connecting Colby’s Island Campus—located on Allen and Benner Islands in Muscongus Bay—to the mainland through experiential learning opportunities. Each year, approximately 2,500 individuals travel by boat from Port Clyde to these islands.\n\nMike Felton, executive director of the GRACE Innovation Center in nearby St. George, welcomed the initiative, seeing it as an opportunity to strengthen vocational education and local workforce development. He expressed interest in forming partnerships that could provide students with practical skills and improve employment pathways within the region, ultimately contributing to a more adaptable and resilient local economy.\n— news from Colby News\n\n— News Original —\nCenter for Resilience and Economic Impact to Launch in Port Clyde\n\nTwo years after a devastating fire ripped through downtown Port Clyde in midcoast Maine, Colby College has completed a real estate deal that will help revitalize the community’s historic waterfront and create a home for the College’s new Center for Resilience and Economic Impact. \n\nThe interdisciplinary research center, which aims to help Maine communities find innovative ways to adapt in the face of catastrophic events, will serve as a home for educational opportunities, outreach, and community building. \n\nFinalized on Nov. 21, 2025, the transaction includes the purchase of the Seaside Inn, The Barn, the Squid Ink building, and the site of the beloved Port Clyde General Store, which was destroyed by the fire in September 2023. The acquisition of the historic waterfront properties was made possible by a generous donation to the College from longtime Port Clyde residents Dan and Sheryl Tishman. \n\nColby is partnering with the Tishman’s family foundation, the NorthLight Foundation, to launch the Center for Resilience and Economic Impact, which will begin operations in 2026. The Tishmans formed the NorthLight Foundation to address environmental, land conservation, and community and climate resistance in Maine and around the country. \n\nProvost and Clara C. Piper Professor of Environmental Studies Denise Bruesewitz said the center will advance Colby’s interdisciplinary work, bringing together science, economics, and policy to drive timely projects that are critical to the welfare of all Mainers. “Community efforts in response to adversity must be supported by the collaboration of organizations and people with different areas of expertise who can work alongside communities to find a path to a sustainable future,” she said. “We’re thrilled to move to the next phase of this innovative project so we can play a key role as a resource for planning, mitigation, and recovery, all while providing opportunities for our students to engage in this impactful work.” \n\nAs it prepares to launch the Center for Resilience and Economic Impact, the College is committed to Port Clyde’s vision of thriving local businesses and a working waterfront. With the sale completed, Colby’s plans for the properties include: \n\nRebuilding a structure on the site of the former general store, which will house a restaurant at the street level and offices of the Center for Resilience and Economic Impact, including gathering and collaborative space open to the community, above; \n\nMaintaining The Barn, across from the former general store, which has operated as a seasonal bar and community gathering spot; \n\nMaintaining the Seaside Inn, a 12-room structure built in 1847 for sea captain Samuel Trussell, as housing for scholars and others working at the center and as a home for student researchers who will live and work in Port Clyde. \n\nIn addition, it is expected that waterfront operations and activity at the Squid Ink building will continue in 2026. \n\n“We’re really excited to see Colby take this next step in making the Center for Resilience and Economic Impact a reality,” said Maggie Drummond-Bahl ’98, executive director of the NorthLight Foundation. “This project has so many benefits, including helping to revitalize the Port Clyde waterfront so it will continue to serve as a hub of community life, and supporting communities and partners around the state in ongoing resilience efforts.” \n\nInterdisciplinary research opportunities \n\nThe Center for Resilience and Economic Impact will leverage Colby’s partnerships across Maine with scientists, policymakers, economists, and individuals and organizations directly impacted by environmental, economic, cultural, and public health crises. It will create a hub for collaborations that will synthesize information and build an interdisciplinary research program. \n\nThe center will host lectures, workshops, and student research internships, and it will help Colby expand the reach and influence of its ongoing interdisciplinary scholarship on the Island Campus. Allen and Benner islands, which make up the Island Campus, are located in Muscongus Bay and are accessible by boat from Port Clyde. About 2,500 people travel to the island by boat from Port Clyde each year. \n\nMike Felton, executive director of GRACE Innovation Center in St. George, which aims to bring career and technical education to students as young as kindergarten through 8th grade, said members of the community are pleased the project is moving forward. \n\n“With the new Center for Resilience and Economic Impact in Port Clyde, Colby’s commitment to St. George enters an exciting new chapter, rooted in place and reaching toward possibility,” Felton said. “I’m eager to explore ways to collaborate with the center through the GRACE Innovation Center and the St. George Community Development Corporation. Together, we can expand opportunities for students to gain real-world skills, strengthen pathways to local employment, and help shape a more resilient future for our community.”