November 23, 2024
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Bangor slated for $1 million community development grant

BANGOR – Members of Maine’s congressional delegation announced Wednesday that more than $1 million in Community Development Block Grant money is heading to the Queen City.

Because of its role as a regional service center, Bangor is one of four Maine cities that receive an annual “entitlement” grant, along with Portland, Lewiston and Auburn.

Bangor’s entitlement has amounted to about $1.2 million for each of the last 10 years, but this year’s allotment is down about 10 percent, Stan Moses, assistant community development director, said Wednesday.

“It’s because of reduced congressional appropriations,” he said.

In a joint announcement issued Wednesday, U.S. Sens. Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins, both Republicans, said Bangor’s $1,060,961 award was part of $7.5 million in funding from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

In past years, Bangor has used CDBG funds for projects ranging from the high-profile, such as the redevelopment of the old gas works site on Main Street and the conversion of the Freese’s building into a residential housing complex, to the less obvious, such as the repair of commercial buildings and single-family homes across the city.

CDBG funds also have been used to leverage as much as six times their value in private investments, city officials said during a public hearing last year.


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