The revitalization of South Windham is yet another step closer after members of the Windham Town council have endorsed submission of an application for Community Development Block Grant funds to move forward with a concept planning study for sidewalk reconstruction in the area.
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| A project to rebuild an existing sidewalk along the east side of Main Street from the Mountain Division Trail to Depot Street and on the west side from the railroad tracks to Depot Street is intended to improve safety for pedestrians and help spur economic growth in South Windham Village. PHOTO BY ED PIERCE |
Town Manager Barry Tibbetts told councilors that the proposed sidewalk improvements are intended to improve safety for pedestrians in South Windham and boost economic growth along Main Street there.
According to Tibbetts, the project would rebuild some 1,250 feet of existing sidewalk along the east side of Main Street from the Blue Seal store near the Mountain Division Trail crossing to Depot Street in the center of South Windham Village.
He said other planned improvements would replace old and failing retaining walls along the 1,250-foot section of rebuilt sidewalk on the east side of Main Street and to install pedestrian lighting along that same 1,250-foot section of rebuilt sidewalk.
The project would also create 1,250 feet of new 5-foot-wide paved sidewalk with granite curbing along the west side of Main Street from the Mountain Division Trail crossing to Depot Street in the center of South Windham Village.
During last June’s Annual Town Meeting, Windham voters authorized a $275,000 bond for creation of a sidewalk from Blue Seal Feed on Gray Road to Depot Street in South Windham sometime in 2024 or 2025.
The new sidewalk coincides with a project that was completed last fall that repaved the parking lot at the Cumberland County Soil and Water Conservation District at 35 Main St. in South Windham which shares a driveway with the town’s South Windham Fire Station. Reconfiguring the parking lot was a collaborative effort between Cumberland County, the Soil and Water Conservation District and the Town of Windham.
The town approached the Soil and Water Conservation District several years ago with the idea that a multi-use parking lot could benefit all interests in South Windham. Tenants of the Soil and Water Conservation District building, hikers using nearby trails, individuals using nearby businesses, and the town itself have benefitted from the updated parking lot.
“Back when we first looked at this, we originally looked at entrance issues in that area,” Windham Town Manager Barry Tibbetts said. “We thought we could work a partnership short-term, to fix the entrance problems and repave the driveway for parking but it turned out to be so much more.”
Windham councilors unanimously voted in December 2020 to sell the old vacant South Windham Fire Station at 8 Main St. for $125,000 to Great Falls Construction of Gorham, owned by Jon and Cindy Smith. They plan to turn the property into a brewhouse and restaurant.
South Windham Village itself was once a thriving industrial and commercial location because of its access to Maine Central railroad and situated near the Presumpscot River but today the area is mostly residential and town councilors and the Windham Economic Development Corporation are seeking for ways to spur economic growth there.
Last fall, an agreement was announced to clean up and demolish the old Keddy Mill site at 7 Depot St. in South Windham under an initiative to protect human health and the environment. Officials from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and ITT LLC, the company responsible for the 6.93-acre Keddy Mill site say that the former industrial building on the site will be razed and contaminated materials there will be removed.
In the past year, Windham and Gorham have agreed to collaborate on a master plan focused on developing a community guided vision for the villages of South Windham and Little Falls. <
During last June’s Annual Town Meeting, Windham voters authorized a $275,000 bond for creation of a sidewalk from Blue Seal Feed on Gray Road to Depot Street in South Windham sometime in 2024 or 2025.
The new sidewalk coincides with a project that was completed last fall that repaved the parking lot at the Cumberland County Soil and Water Conservation District at 35 Main St. in South Windham which shares a driveway with the town’s South Windham Fire Station. Reconfiguring the parking lot was a collaborative effort between Cumberland County, the Soil and Water Conservation District and the Town of Windham.
The town approached the Soil and Water Conservation District several years ago with the idea that a multi-use parking lot could benefit all interests in South Windham. Tenants of the Soil and Water Conservation District building, hikers using nearby trails, individuals using nearby businesses, and the town itself have benefitted from the updated parking lot.
“Back when we first looked at this, we originally looked at entrance issues in that area,” Windham Town Manager Barry Tibbetts said. “We thought we could work a partnership short-term, to fix the entrance problems and repave the driveway for parking but it turned out to be so much more.”
Windham councilors unanimously voted in December 2020 to sell the old vacant South Windham Fire Station at 8 Main St. for $125,000 to Great Falls Construction of Gorham, owned by Jon and Cindy Smith. They plan to turn the property into a brewhouse and restaurant.
South Windham Village itself was once a thriving industrial and commercial location because of its access to Maine Central railroad and situated near the Presumpscot River but today the area is mostly residential and town councilors and the Windham Economic Development Corporation are seeking for ways to spur economic growth there.
Last fall, an agreement was announced to clean up and demolish the old Keddy Mill site at 7 Depot St. in South Windham under an initiative to protect human health and the environment. Officials from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and ITT LLC, the company responsible for the 6.93-acre Keddy Mill site say that the former industrial building on the site will be razed and contaminated materials there will be removed.
In the past year, Windham and Gorham have agreed to collaborate on a master plan focused on developing a community guided vision for the villages of South Windham and Little Falls. <
