Farmingdale car dealership opening Fairfield location is latest recipient of town grant program

A small Main Street with a fancy victorian brick building up close on the left and a row of two-story brick commercial buildings across the street

Photo / Maureen Milliken Fairfield's Facade Improvement and Marketing Assistance Program has awarded seven grants since it was launched in 2018, not only helping individual businesses, but providing an economic boost for the Somerset County town.

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Fairfield town economic development grant program's most recent awardee is to a Farmingdale auto dealer opening a new location in town, and economic development leaders are hoping the newly launched third round will bring more.

Seven Fairfield Facade Improvement & Marketing Assistance Program grants totaling $67,591 have been awarded since the program launched in 2018, with the first grants awarded in 2019. The grants, which are not only for building improvements but also for marketing efforts, have stimulated more than $137,850 in direct investment into community businesses in less than three years, according to town development officials.

The most recent grant was awarded in November to Kevin Keene, of Maine Avenue Auto Sales, of Farmingdale. The company recently bought 23 Main St. with plans to open its third dealership. It also has a dealership in Winslow.

The $13,962 grant will be a 50% match in a total $27,929 project to repair and replace windows, doors and trim, put up signs, clean the exterior, make it ADA-compliant and more at the small dealership building near the Waterville line.

The other 2020 recipient was Sunset Flowerland, 491 Ridge Road, which was also a 2019 recipient. The $25,000 grant will support an overall $52,000 upgrade to fencing, paving, window replacements and roof repairs. In 2019, the nursery got a $6,658 marketing grant for radio ads, website enhancement and e-commerce.

“We are pleased to be in the midst of offering a third funding cycle for Fairfield businesses and property owners, and we are thrilled with the applications we have received in the past,” Michelle Flewelling, town manager, said in a news release.

“Despite unprecedented difficulties faced by companies and property owners during the past year, local businesses have maintained an admirable commitment to the community, including moving forward on a focused range of restoration projects to launching e-commerce platforms that drive online sales."

Flewelling said that, In turn, the projects funded by the grant program "are creating a strong foundation from which we can assist the local economy as we continue to invite growth and development.”

While similar area programs are funded by Community Development Block Grants, which have also been used in Fairfield, the program launched in 2018 is supported by town tax increment financing revenues. The distribution of funding is spearheaded by the Fairfield Economic and Community Development Committee.

The grants are for $3,000 to $25,000, reimbursing up to 50% of the cost of facade improvements and marketing projects.

The funding can be used for redevelopment initiatives that include renovation, restoration and preservation of privately owned business exteriors in town. It also provides marketing assistance to businesses via print media, radio advertising, social media platforms, website enhancements and other options.

The second round, which launched in May, prioritized projects that strongly support revitalization of the business community, including job creation and retention, Flewelling said at the time. Those are the grants that went to Maine Avenue Auto Sales and Sunset Flowerland.

The round looked to develop partnerships, retain and expand existing operations and make neighborhoods more inviting as a means of encouraging new businesses, residents, and visitors were all a focus, in order to create direct economic benefits, Flewelling said.

A row of 19th century two-story brick buildings with granite details, one has a black and orance sign that says meridian, a pickup truck goes by on the street

Photo / Maureen Milliken

IBEW 2543 at 176 Main St. Fairfield, left, and Meridians Kitchen & Bar, right, 166 Main St., are recipients of the town's Facade Improvement and Marketing Assistance Program grants.

Making a difference downtown and beyond

First-round recipients were downtown businesses Meridians Kitchen & Bar, at 166 Main St.; International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 1253, at 176 Main St.; and Belanger's Drive-In, 84 Main St., which got two grants.

The IBEW used the money for masonry repointing and building access at the former Fairfield Savings and Trust Company building at the corner of Main and Bridge streets, which was built in 1900.

Owners of Meridians Kitchen used the money for signs, digital marketing and website enhancement for both its 166 Main St. location, which opened in June 2019, and for its store, Meridians, in the Gerald building across the street at 151 Main St.

Belanger's, a drive-in ice cream and hamburger restaurant, used the money for digital signs and website enhancement.

While the first round's recipients are located downtown, the two second-round recipients aren't. The commercial districts in the town, which is along the Kennebec River between Waterville and Skowhegan, are "compact and asset-rich," said Garvan Donegan, director of planning, innovation and economic development at the Central Maine Growth Council, which helps administer the grants.

He said while the grants are to individual businesses, they make a difference throughout the town of about 6,700 residents.

“The vitality of Fairfield’s downtown, commercial corridors and residential neighborhoods has continued to catalyze positive growth and create tangible change,” Donegan said. “Fairfield’s investments into the community and local businesses emphasizes the importance of stimulating local impact and creating conditions of economic resiliency.”

The town's Economic and Community Development Advisory Committee, which oversees the program, is open to any resident in town, or any business owner or educator with a vested interest in community development. There is no deadline for applying for the third round of the grants.