Biddeford, ME Seeks Consultants for Downtown Master Plan
Plan will provide road map for community’s vision of a thriving downtown
For Immediate Release
Biddeford, ME — An old mill city in southern Maine is building a new vision for its Downtown. The Heartworks Downtown Master Planning Project has been engaging its residents and business owners to determine the best course for the future—an effort led by Heart of Biddeford, in partnership with the City of Biddeford and the Orton Family Foundation.
Main Street, Biddeford, Maine
For the next step in this two-year Heart & Soul Community Planning initiative, the City has issued a Request for Proposals for a consultant team to draft a Downtown Master Plan that ensures Biddeford’s “heart and soul” is central to future planning and decision making.
The Project began in early 2009 by gathering Biddeford stories to discover what places, characteristics and customs make the city unique. That process led to the release of a documentary produced by hired fellows from the Salt Institute for Documentary Studies, multi-media oral history projects from Biddeford High School students, and hundreds of anecdotal accounts gathered from community members about what makes Biddeford home.
Heartworks is now undertaking a series of grassroots meetings at which participants will take what has been learned about the community and define a vision for Downtown. The Master Plan consulting team will come on board at the culmination of this phase to help translate the vision into an actionable plan.
“The neighborhood meetings are a chance for Biddeford residents to provide input on the future of the City’s economic center,” said Heart of Biddeford Executive Director and Heartworks Program Manager, Ezekiel Callanan. “Our goal is to create the simplest, most organic atmosphere for community input: local venues with locally trained facilitators gleaning local input from neighborhoods across Biddeford.”
Biddeford seeks a consultant team that can dynamically respond to traditional downtown issues like land use, infrastructure and transportation, as well as new ideas brought forward by community members during the dialogue and vision phases of the project. The City is interested in unique methods, like scenario development, visualization and consensus building to help define and implement the downtown vision.
“This next, critical step allows Biddeford to determine the future of its downtown based on what people aspire to and value. It puts the community in the driver’s seat—capable of steering, rather than reacting to development that may or may not fit with their vision,” said Betsy Rosenbluth, Northeast Director of Projects for the Orton Family Foundation. “It’s essential that community members continue to offer their ideas and guidance through the process.”
Learn more about the Master Planning Project and consultant requirements in the full RFP. Completed proposals are due no later than Wednesday, April 15, 2010.
DOWNLOAD FULL RELEASE: PDF WORD
For More Information:
Ezekiel Callanan, Executive Director
Heart of Biddeford
205 Main Street, Suite 103
Biddeford, ME 04005
zeke@heartofbiddeford.org
www.heartofbiddeford.org
John Barstow, Director of Communications
Orton Family Foundation
PO Box 111 (152 Maple St., Suite 101)
Middlebury, VT 05753
802.388.6336
communications@orton.org
www.orton.org