Long-time Executive Director to be Succeeded by Deputy Director of Innovation and Development Kristine Logan of TechPlace in 2022
May 20th, 2021
BRUNSWICK LANDING, Maine — Steve Levesque, the Executive Director of the Midcoast Regional Redevelopment Authority (MRRA) is announcing his retirement, effective December 31, 2021.
Kristine Logan, MRRA’s Deputy Director of Innovation and Development and Director of TechPlace has been appointed as the new Executive Director beginning January 2022. Over the next few months, she will be working with the MRRA Board and staff to transition into her new role.
Steve has led the redevelopment effort of Naval Air Station Brunswick (NASB) since the beginning of the project. He has been MRRA’s only Executive Director since its formation in 2008. He was previously the Executive Director of the Brunswick Local Redevelopment Authority, which was charged with overseeing the successful completion of the Reuse Master Plan for NASB.
“We are extremely grateful for Steve’s leadership since he took the helm in 2008,” said Rita Armstrong, MRRA Board of Trustees Chair. “MRRA has met or exceeded all of its original goals and objectives and is nationally recognized for being one of the most successful base re-use initiatives.”
“It’s been a tremendous journey and I’ve been fortunate to have been in this role as long as I have; the past 16 years have flown by,” Steve said. “It’s been an amazing team effort since day 1.
“I’m grateful for the MRRA team’s hard work, dedication and passion in helping to realize our dream for the adaptive reuse of this former base. I’m also very grateful for the outstanding partnerships we’ve developed over the years with so many groups — the Navy, the Towns of Brunswick and Topsham, the State of Maine, all of Maine’s congressional delegation, the FAA, and especially the impressive list of businesses and private developers who’ve invested in our vision to convert a former Navy base and create this great new place.”
Steve oversees a staff of 12 at MRRA and an annual operational budget of nearly $7 million. Since the Navy disestablished the base in 2011, Steve has led the redevelopment effort which has included the following major highlights:
- More than 2,400 jobs created surpassing $150 million former Navy payroll
- More than 140 business entities at Brunswick Landing and Topsham Commerce Park, including a third of them new businesses to the State of Maine
- Creation of TechPlace, a manufacturing business incubator with 35 resident businesses
- Attraction of over a half billion dollars in private sector capital investment
- Property sales to more than 20 new property owners, including more than 650 units of workforce housing
- More than $150 million in new valuation and $3 million in annual property taxes generated for the Towns of Brunswick and Topsham
- More than $40 million in upgrades to Brunswick Executive Airport’s (BXM) infrastructure and buildings
- More than $100 million invested in new building construction and infrastructure projects owned by MRRA
- Creation of Brunswick Renewable Energy Center, including ownership of former Navy electrical grid with 3.5-megawatt load and 2 megawatts of on-site renewable electricity generation
- 10% annual growth in air operations, based aircraft, and aviation fuel sales at BXM
- Environmental stewardship and wildlife habitat preservation, including transfer of more than 1,200 acres of open space and trails to the Town of Brunswick and local Land Trust
“I’m awfully proud of our accomplishments,” Steve said. “but we still have a long way to go. I’m confident the MRRA team under Kristine’s leadership will continue to perform at the highest level.”
Kristine has served as director of TechPlace since 2014. In that role, she has overseen more than $5 million in renovations and purchases of new machinery and equipment that have converted the former Navy AIMD into New England’s premier manufacturing incubator for early stage and startup businesses, including four that have graduated into much larger facilities at Brunswick Landing. Logan has 15-plus years of experience in economic development, workforce development, and education.
“It will be a very smooth transition,” Steve said. “She’s been a key player for us with what she’s done at TechPlace. She likes to think big and is passionate about the redevelopment effort. Her expertise in economic and business development, her ability to develop strategic partnerships and work with innovative businesses will be important assets for MRRA going forward.”
Steve is a two-time recipient of the Community Leadership Award from the Association of Defense Communities (ADC) for demonstrating innovation and excellence in the successful redevelopment of the former Naval Air Station Brunswick. Under Steve’s leadership the MRRA team has been recognized by a number of state organizations including – 2011 Champion of Economic Development Award from the Maine Development Foundation, 2017 Maine ENVY Award from the Maine State Chamber of Commerce, 2013 Maine Real Estate Development Association’s Nobel Project Award, 2016 Small Business of the Year Award from the Southern Midcoast Chamber of Commerce, and the 2017 Community Leadership Award of the United Way of Midcoast Maine.
He was named the 2018 Mainebiz Business Leader of the Year for Non-Profits.
Steve serves on a number of industry and economic development boards, including the Loring Redevelopment Authority of Maine, Moosehead Lake Region Economic Development Corporation, Owls Head Transportation Museum, and the Maine Spaceport Leadership Council, to name a few.
Steve’s professional career has spanned over 41 years in both the private and public sectors in the areas of economic and community development, land use planning and environmental services.
Prior to his current base redevelopment assignments in 2006, Steve was President of SHL Enterprise Solutions, a management consulting firm based in Hallowell, Maine. From 1998 through 2003, Steve served as the Commissioner of the Maine Department of Economic and Community Development, where he oversaw the King Administration’s economic development programs. Previously, Steve served in the capacities of Director of Business Development for the Maine Department of Economic and Community Development, Director of Development for the City of Lewiston, Maine, and as Chief Planner for the Maine Land Use Regulation Commission. Steve has also worked for several environmental management and community and economic development consulting firms in California and Maine.
Steve was raised in Auburn, Maine, graduating from Edward Little High School. Following a four-year stint in the United States Marine Corps as an aircraft mechanic, he pursued his education and received a BA in Political Science and an MS in Environmental Studies (concentration in Urban and Regional Planning), both from California State University, Fullerton.
Upon his retirement, Steve and his wife Lisa will become permanent residents of Greenville, Maine.
