A diverse crowd of about 60 Westbrook residents largely agreed last week on what they would like to see in the city’s downtown five years from now – an expanded riverwalk, smaller boutique shops and a revamped Blue Note Park.

The discussion came as a result of a “visioning” session hosted March 24 by the Downtown Westbrook Coalition, an organization formed in 2014 to revitalize the downtown district by using the national Main Street model.

Abigail Cioffi, who was hired to lead the organization when it began, said last week’s session has invigorated the group. She said having consensus during a visioning session is rare.

“Visioning tends to bring out differences, which then need to be discussed to create compromise, but those who attended on Thursday night had a remarkably uniform vision for downtown Westbrook,” she said in an email this week.

Prior to working together to discuss specific visions, participants wrote quick responses to questions written on large paper. Responses to “What do you think will happen if we do nothing?” ranged from the downtown becoming stagnate, to youth leaving the city.

To the question, “What would you like to see changed?” residents said they’d like to see a dog park, more arts spaces, more small boutique stores, and cafes and coffee shops.

Delilah Poupore, the executive director of Heart of Biddeford, a successful Main Street revitalization program, was brought in by the coalition to facilitate the Westbrook event. Poupore said the turnout and enthusiasm were uncommon.

“The board members who are here will be changed by what they hear tonight,” she said. Many of the coalition’s board members were in attendance.

She told the crowd that many downtowns, like Westbrook, were victims of programs such as urban renewal during the 1970s, or the development of malls in rural areas taking business away from downtowns. Such strategies left many downtown districts faltering, with residents “missing a sense of place.”

She said in Biddeford, her organization has often seen success by simply experimenting with different ideas.

“We want to get the downtown to be the economic driver it should be,” she said.

Poupore began the session by screening short snippets of videos pertaining to downtown planning, including a discussion on efforts to keep downtown green spaces. Many participants mentioned that an overhaul is needed at Blue Note Park, a concrete park established between the Westbrook Common buildings during the urbal renewal years.

During the session, participants were paired with partners, with each asked to describe their ideal downtown five years from now. Then, Poupore split the room into larger groups, with a goal of working to make a master list of ideas pertaining to a number of categories, including infrastructure, aesthetics and activities.

During one of the first exercises, coalition executive committee member Ed Symbol said he was surprised by the turnout, but also by the the different “cross-section” of Westbrook residents.

“Usually you get the same old faces,” he said. “That’s not the case tonight.”

Participants included longtime residents, recent arrivals and a number of city employees and business owners. During subsequent group exercises, many agreed on infrastructure needs such as signage to better direct visitors to the downtown, and more attractive flower beds and planters. Many would like to see more cafes and arts and music venues, all with a goal to bring people downtown. Activities along the river and in the river were also a theme.

Poupore said attracting young people into the downtown should also be a key goal. One of the short videos she showed discussed the millennial generation and its impact on downtowns.

The Westbrook coalition’s strategic plan aims to divide the information gathered into categories, and use it to narrow its work into specific projects. Poupore said the coalition will have to make the determination of what is feasible, and what it can receive for funding.

Other ideas from participants included attracting a local grocer like Rosemont Market and a new downtown entertainment venue. Robin Tannenbaum, who also serves on the city’s Planning Board, said the city needs to engage people who aren’t already in Westbrook, especially young people.

A key component of the future of downtown Westbrook is occuring now, with the redesign of the Bridge Street bridge and a new pedestrian bridge to be completed this summer. Ann Peoples, a former Maine state representative from Westbrook, said community members should have access to the project plans on the city website, which she said can help to better form residents’ vision for the immediate area, including the riverwalk.

Administered by the Maine Development Foundation, Downtown Westbrook Coalition is based on a national model known as the Main Street program, but is a less-rigorous version. Cioffi and the coalition are looking to recruit residents to join one of four committees, each working on a specific tenet of Main Street’s four-point approach to downtown revitalization developed by the National Trust for Historic Preservation. They are organization, promotion, design and economic vitality.

Cioffi said continuing to get the kind of residential participation seen last week is key to making downtown districts work.

“If a third of the people joined a committee, that would be unbelieveable,” Poupore said.

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