BELFAST - The U.S. Economic Development Administration on Tuesday awarded Belfast $1.9 million for a major overhaul of Front Street.

The grant would cover half the cost of the estimated $3.8 million project, which would include realigning and rebuilding the road between Main and Pierce Streets, updating water, sewer and electrical services and expanding the intersection at Pierce Street.

Belfast’s Economic Development Director Thomas Kittredge, said the project involves a lot of basic infrastructure work, but details like strengthening the roadway to accommodate heavier vehicles were included specifically to benefit Front Street Shipyard and Penobscot McCrum.

“It’s an economic development project, so it will help [them] add jobs,” he said, noting that both companies assisted the city in the grant application process. 

“They were the two businesses that helped sell the story on this one,” he said.

Kittredge anticipated that final plans for the project would be completed in late 2014. By the same schedule, construction would begin in spring 2015 and be finished within that year, he said.

The Front Street reconstruction would include purchasing a property at the corner of Pierce and Front Streets to widen the intersection, which is currently flanked on the Front Street side by a crumbling retaining wall. The city took an option on the property last December.

Updates to water lines would be done in partnership with the Belfast Water District. Kittredge said the utility is expected to contribute $630,000. 

The balance of the project, he said, would likely be financed with a bond that would be paid back with revenue from the city’s Downtown and Waterfront TIF (tax increment financing) district.

Kittredge said Belfast was competing for the EDA grant with municipalities in a region extending south to Philadelphia. Officials from the Economic Development Administration were supportive of the city’s application from early on, he said, as were Maine’s elected representatives in Washington.

U.S. Senators Susan Collins and Angus King announced the grant on Tuesday. In a joint press release, Collins called it “terrific news for Belfast and the surrounding area.”

"By leveraging further private investment, this funding will have a positive ripple effect throughout the economy and will lead to the creation of new jobs," she said.

King said the EDA had “recognized the hard work and vision of the Belfast community through this well-deserved grant.”

"This welcomed investment in infrastructure will not only create jobs, but it will also help support the continued economic growth of the area," he said.

Belfast estimates that the funding will help create 110 jobs, save 130 jobs and generate $8.7 million in private investment, according to a statement from EDA.

Kittredge praised the City Council for approving the $25,000 necessary to complete the application without knowing what the outcome might be.

“There was no guarantee,” he said. “This was a step up from the usual [state] Community Development Block Grant.”

Ethan Andrews can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com