Freeport is moving forward with its vision to create a more vibrant downtown.
This week the town hired Portland-based engineering firm Stantec and the planning and design firm Speck Dempsey, which is headquartered in Brookline, Mass.
Town planners have been studying the community’s needs for several years, with a goal of adding housing and more diverse transportation options to the U.S. Route 1 corridor, which includes Freeport’s central retail district.
The primary focus area for the Village Corridor Initiative is the stretch of Route 1 from approximately the park-and-ride near Maine Beer Co., north to the intersection with Upper Mast Landing Road, and includes adjacent parcels currently served by infrastructure and utilities.
One parcel already being looked at for potential housing is the large parking lot adjacent to the Amtrak Downeaster line.
Stantec and Speck Dempsey will create “a coordinated development design,” according to town planner Brett Richardson, which will integrate Freeport’s downtown vision plan, climate action plan and active living plan.
The redesign is a joint project with the Maine Department of Transportation, which is providing planning resources and matching funding through the state’s Planning Partnership Initiative. The program seeks to advance locally led transportation projects that support economic development for Maine communities.
Cost for Stantec and Speck Dempsey’s work will total $150,000, with the town and state splitting the cost.
Recommendations from the team will be incorporated into an updated comprehensive plan, due to be completed later this year.
“New housing is key to Freeport’s future,” said Freeport Town Council member John Egan, who chairs the town’s housing task force. “We want to be top of mind for Maine’s development community as an inviting place. Partnerships and good planning like the Village Corridor initiative are how we put out that welcome mat.”
Recent policy changes have helped remove barriers to new housing development in town, noted Richardson. “Due to regulatory changes in recent years designed to increase flexibility for housing projects, Freeport’s downtown zoning requires zero land per dwelling unit and one parking space or less per apartment.”
A recent study endorsed by the town council calls for expanding this flexibility throughout the Village Corridor Initiative area.
A kick-off event to update the community on the project is scheduled for June 17, at 6 p.m., at the Freeport Community Performing Arts Center. It will feature a talk by designer Jeff Speck, principal with Speck Dempsey. Speck has authored several books on urban planning, including, “Walkable City: How Downtown Saves America, One Step at a Time.”