This is an exciting time for Biddeford. As of this week, the city has begun accepting proposals for the 8.5-acre former waste incinerator site on Lincoln Street. By the deadline at the end of May, several project plans from reputable developers nationwide will hopefully have poured in, giving city officials a myriad of options from which to choose for the site’s redevelopment.
The city is taking a very thorough approach to filling this lot, requiring would-be developers to submit a “letter of intent” that delineates their qualifications, experience, fiscal capabilities and the details of their proposal. In the citys’ request for such letters, it states, “The importance of this project for the community cannot be understated.”
We could not agree more, and we feel Councilor Michael Ready said it well at the Tuesday council meeting: “Who we partner with will be one of the most important decisions we make in the next 20, 40, 100 years.”
Just as the Maine Energy Recovery Company’s waste incinerator was the bane of the downtown for more than 25 years, so must this new development be its salvation. The area is well-primed for a major hub sort of business that will bring large-scale vitality back to the downtown area.
Many of the Main Street storefronts are occupied these days, with a dazzling variety of ethnic and eclectic food shops, music, arts and clothing shops, a bakery, business offices, banks, a theater and much more, plus public and private parks to complement them. The sidewalks and streetlights have been renovated and more improvements and investments are coming in the mills.
There is no denying that the city will be pinning much of its hopes on whatever project is built on the former MERC site, to bring all of the recent, smaller success stories together in one final push toward the long-term prosperity the city has sought to recapture ever since the textile industry began leaving town.
After years of concentrated efforts to build it back up, and the landmark vote to purchase and shut down the waste incinerator that had been hamstringing those efforts, downtown Biddeford is now ready to be fully realized as a bustling economic driver ”“ so long as investment can be attracted.
With the poorly sited waste incinerator and its offensive odors gone from the heart of the city, few obstacles remain to address. One of those is parking, and another is making the downtown feel more safe and upscale to encourage visitors, according to recent studies and public input sessions.
This new development could be anything, from the York County civic center suggested by Councilor Bob Mills to a sports arena, manufacturing center or retail mall. Whatever proposals enhance the tax base and bring jobs to the area will be considered, according to city documents ”“ and we hope they are considered carefully indeed.
It’s a tall order to look to this one site’s redevelopment as a key to restoring the downtown’s vitality, but it is going to be a very important component of the area’s rebirth. This site has a significant emotional hold on the people of Biddeford, who for many years lived with the odors, truck traffic and health concerns from the incinerator while watching the downtown economy wither away.
Whatever sort of enterprise is sited there, we hope it is one that will not only bring an economic boost, but also come to define Biddeford in a positive light.
We’re looking forward to seeing what comes in for proposals by the end of May, and to seeing the city embrace its future.
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