The City of Sanford Awarded $25M in Federal Funds for Downtown Revitalization Project

For Immediate Release: August 8, 2022

     
    The City of Sanford Awarded $25M in Federal Funds for Downtown Revitalization Project
    Sanford Successful in RAISE Grant Application
     
SANFORD, ME- Sanford will receive a Federal Award of $25M for a necessary and much-anticipated revitalization of its Downtown. The RAISE application was submitted in collaboration with the City of Sanford and the Maine Department of Transportation (MDOT).  Dependent upon the final Bid Award, there will be an MDOT and Local Match of approximately $10M. The $25M project award will be used entirely for construction, and the City and MDOT will be fully funding any Design Costs. 
 
“The RAISE Grant Merit Criteria closely mirrored both local and statewide goals for Sanford’s future. We are looking forward to continuing innovation, economic competitiveness, quality of life, and environmental sustainability through Sanford’s infrastructure,” says Sanford Director of Public Works, Matthew Hill. 
 
The project consists of: The complete reconstruction of approximately 0.5 miles of Sanford’s Main Street (Route 109) in the heart of its Downtown. This includes widening sidewalks, installation of energy-efficient streetlights, parking improvements, and communications to include new fiber optic conduits for SanfordNet Fiber. SanfordNet Fiber Optic is a 45-mile municipally-owned network capable of supporting significant growth in the Downtown and Mill District.
 
Improvements will be made to roughly 0.5 miles of William Oscar Emery Drive and Riverside Avenue to encompass the Mousam Promenade. The Mousam Promenade, approximately 2.5 Kilometers or ½ of a 5 K route, is a circumference complete street improvement around Sanford’s No. 1 Pond. The Promenade will embrace a highly walkable Downtown and act as a key connector for Sanford’s Northerly and Southerly 45-mile bike and pedestrian trails network.
 
A major arterial into Sanford and its Downtown, Cottage Street (Route 202) will have complete street improvements of around 0.7 miles. The project will preserve the unique architecture along the street and provide improved access to Sanford’s Historic Mill District.  
 
Washington Street acts as a key downtown connector into the Historic Mill District and will see approximately 0.2 miles of improvements. which include significant intersection improvements at School, High, and River Streets. 
 
School Street will see 0.2 miles of connectivity improvements for Downtown businesses and Central Park access. 
 
A park-and-ride facility will be built on Emerson Street to serve the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard and other regional employers. The park and ride will be built with sustainability in mind, with an emphasis on rideshare options, vanpools, micro-transit, and EV charging station opportunities. 
 
The project will improve safety aspects of all the streets involved for pedestrians, motorists, and all road users; modernize infrastructure to attract potential employers and commercial and residential development; and meet ADA and MDOT standards. 
 
Sanford’s full Application can be found online at: https://www.maine.gov/mdot/grants/raise/
     
Partnerships were vital to the successful grant application. These partnerships include: The Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity, (RAISE) Grant program, which provided a unique opportunity for MDOT and Sanford to invest in road projects that promise to achieve national objectives. 
 
Senator Collins, the Ranking Member of the Transportation Appropriations Subcommittee, and Maine’s entire congressional delegation were very supportive of Sanford’s Application in this highly competitive process. Upon announcing the awards, Senator Collins released this statement: “As the Ranking Member of the Transportation Appropriations Subcommittee, securing funding to improve Maine’s infrastructure and bolster our economy is one of my top priorities.” 
 
“The investment in Sanford is exciting and will be transformative. It will help revitalize the downtown and improve the quality of life for the city’s residents, attract more visitors, and support small businesses.”
 
Sanford has been successfully partnering with MaineDOT, particularly since the advent of their Municipal Partnership Initiative (MPI) and Planning Partnership Initiative programs, to better target both Municipal and State infrastructure funding opportunities. City Manager, Steven Buck said, “The City could not have had a more invested partner working on this Application to the US Dept. of Transportation than the Maine Dept. of Transportation.”
 
Maine Department of Transportation (MDOT) Village Partnership Initiative – the first of its kind – highlights MDOT’s focus on helping revitalize Maine’s downtowns and villages. The City worked with the MDOT to encapsulate a number of partnership agreements within the boundaries of the Project with prior engineering and scopes of construction now wrapped into our successful Application for the RAISE Grant. 
 
Years of collaborative planning work between MDOT and Sanford include the MDOT Planning Partnership Initiative, MDOT Safe Routes to School Program, and various other State-Municipal Agreements for Work.   
The Sanford City Council has been a key driver in this Application through a series of Resolutions and, most importantly, initial bonding of $6.2 M for Streets, an increased commitment for Capital expenditures for the Roads, support for the Planning Partnership Agreement, and ultimately support for Staff to pursue the RAISE Grant.
 
The City of Sanford and MDOT have been working on the planning and engineering for these streets for several years. The City will start working on the final design, right-of-way survey, and preparation of documents to move towards construction. Construction is anticipated to start the summer of 2026 and be completed by 2030.