WESTBROOK — For more than a decade, Westbrook Common, the pedestrian mall between Main Street and William Clarke Drive, has been on the list of sites city officials have sought to rehabilitate.

On Monday, the City Council gave its preliminary approval to begin that process when it agreed to accept $100,000 from the Westbrook Environmental Improvement Corporation to design a new vision for the property. The council’s final vote is set for Monday, Feb. 4.

 “The public has talked about this for many years,” Economic Development Director Daniel Stevenson said Monday during a short presentation to the council. “It is time to really redo the park and get it done as a continuation of civic space.”

City Administrator Jerre Bryant said the site, which was constructed as part of urban renewal, is “pretty tired” and is in need of an upgrade. 

The property consists of some benches, a bike rack, flower pots and a sculpture of music notes with a fountain that hasn’t worked in close to 20 years. Stevenson has a grander vision for the property that includes outdoor dining and space for events, such as poetry readings and other performances.

“One of the things that was clear to me when I showed up was making Westbrook more downtown-oriented,” said Stevenson, who started in his position in October 2017. “This is one way to continue to move that forward.”

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Bryant said the WEIC funding will help leverage other funding, possibly from the Cornelia Warren Community Association or Community Development Block Grant program. The hope, should the council officially approve the request next week, is to do some preliminary design work and cost estimates in order to be able to secure funding from the Cornelia Warren Community Association at its April meeting.

The project, Stevenson said, would cost approximately $500,000, with the hope of getting $300,000 from the Cornelia Warren Community Association and another $100,000 to $125,000 through the Community Development Block Grant Program. The remaining funding would come from other grants or foundations.

The funding won’t materialize without a properly vetted design proposal, Bryant said.

WEIC funding, he said, doesn’t come through tax dollars, but rather from a pool of money set aside from previous tax increment financing agreements.

Stevenson said the goal is to have the final design work completed by the end of the year, have it go out to bid around this time in 2020 and have it completed by fall 2020.

The project, he noted, may also involve improving the facades of the buildings that face Westbrook Common.

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Councilor Mike Foley is eager to see the project take form. He said he has been worried that the large mixed-use Rock Row development on the Westbrook/Portland line will, once completed, suck business and foot traffic from downtown.

Foley said it is important to continue making investments downtown.

“We know this is underutilized. Hopefully this work will continue to make this more of a utilized area going forward,” he said.

Councilor Lynda Adams is also hopeful a renovated Westbrook Common could become a downtown destination.

“I’ve said for years, people drive through our city and we need to find a way to make them stop. This is going to help get them to stop. It is definitely going to be a destination,” Adams said.

Michael Kelley can be reached at 780-9106 or mkelley@keepmecurrent.com or on Twitter @mkelleynews

The City Council gave initial approval to a request to use $100,000 in Westbrook Environmental Improvement Corporation funding to pay for design work to rehabilitate Westbrook Common, the pedestrian mall between Main Street and William Clarke Drive.

Economic Development Director Daniel Stevenson’s vision for a new Westbrook Common includes transitioning the area into more of a destination-oriented space. Westbrook Common was constructed as part of the urban renewal project in the 1970s.

The area that is now Westbrook Common was, more than 150 years ago, a stop on the Underground Railroad.


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