Augusta, the capital of Maine, is the business and education center of a tourist-vacation area. The city lies in the Kennebec River Valley on both sides of the river's banks in a region noted for its fertile farmlands, rich timberlands, lakes, and scenic rolling hills. Augusta is considered one of Maine's fastest-growing cities. The presence of government lends stability to the city's economy. In the 1990s and into the early 2000s, the city has undergone a renewal with new facades on downtown storefronts, a new bus depot, a water-front park, and a new city hall complex, the rehabilitation and reuse of landmark buildings in the city's downtown business core (including the former city hall, now an assisted living residence,) and the return of wildlife to the Kennebec River following the 1999 demolition of the Edwards Mill Dam.