1736 Magazine - Fall 2018

Paul King
Rex Property & Land LLC
Born: August 1958, Rochester, N.H.
PHOTO BY DAMON CLINE
graphically more compact, and its homes are generally
more upscale.
“Harrisburg doesn’t have the bones that Olde
Town has,” he said. “Harrisburg was always a mill
community. So mill workers are not going to have
fantastic homes. That’s just the way it is. That’s an
economic fact of life.”
King’s business has seen its peaks and valleys –
most notably during the past two recessions – but
in general he has been able to grow the business on
a fairly consistent basis. He said he remains surprised
that nobody other than himself, Bryan Halterman
of Haltermann Partners and Mark Donahue
of Peach Contractors are actively redeveloping
downtown property on a large scale.
“The marketplace is still shockingly uncrowded,”
he said.
King has shared his expertise with community
organizations, such as the city’s Downtown Development
Authority and he Augusta Metro Chamber
of Commerce. He was one of the biggest supporters
of downtown Augusta’s Business Improvement
District and he currently sits on the city’s parking
sub-committee, which reviews parking management
solutions in the urban core.
He said the city’s failure to address its parking
problem is stifling downtown development. The
current ordinance, which requires property owners
to have dedicated parking spaces before launching
a redevelopment project, should be scrapped and a
modern parking enforcement plan should be implemented,
he said.
“We’re begging them to relieve this suburban
parking requirement that is preventing so much
from happening downtown right now,” he said.
Family: Wife, Adele; daughters Ashley and Aubrey;
son Will
Education: Bachelor’s degrees in engineering and
biochemistry, University of New Hampshire
Hobbies: Travel, visual and performing arts,
reading
King said he loves Augusta but that he has always
been frustrated by the city government’s lack
of interest in the urban core, which he attributes to
an irrational fear of gentrification.
“If they want to keep demographics the way
they are, then Augusta will forever be a poor city,”
he said. “They’re choking off the money of the future
and the jobs of the future for their children.”
“Many in Augusta view everything as a zero sum
game. If downtown is getting better, it must be
hurting the southside, for example,” he said.
He said the urban core could benefit from more
stringent code enforcement to get owners of vacant
buildings to shore up their properties. In Philadelphia,
where his daughter lives, he noted the city
taxes vacant lots and buildings at higher rates to
people from letting properties sit idle or fall into
disrepair.
Money can still be made downtown for those
willing to take the risk. King said a perfect example
is the J.B. White’s condo building, whose commercial
space on the ground floor is owned by his
company. He said all 51 condo units have been sold.
“I said those last condos are going to sell for absolute
top dollar, and they did,” he said. “Now, resales
are 30 percent over their original sales price.
So the people who bought in have made out fine.”
King himself calls the Summerville neighborhood
home. But Olde Town will always hold a special
place in his heart
“I lived seven years in Olde Town. I met my wife
in Olde Town. It’s always been dear to me,” he
said. “It’s still a fun place. It’s an eclectic community.
There is no more integrated neighborhood in
Augusta than Olde Town.” •
1736magazine.com u 49