Little Falls-South Windham, ME Villages Revitalization Master Plan
The towns of Gorham and Windham, Maine are
seeking an experienced, dynamic, and diverse professional planning consultant
team to develop a Revitalization Master Plan for the village area that is
Little Falls in Gorham and South Windham.
The area is designated as low/moderate income and has been since the existing plan was written 20 years ago. If intervention in the form of joint planning and effort to improve the functionality and livability of the area does not happen, it will most likely continue to deteriorate, and the effort required to revive it, and make it a productive center of commerce and community will increase in a negative-feedback pattern, as blight and decay begets more blight and decay. It is imperative that visible effort is made now, to instead start a positive feedback pattern now.
The towns seek and are pleased to invite interested individuals, agencies, and/or teams (each, a "Respondent") to submit a response to this RFP (each, a "Response") to develop a Revitalization Master Plan that will invite grassroots input and include implementation and investment strategies to guide development and reinvestment, with the goal of bringing these village areas to their highest and best potential.
Study Area and Overview
The study area generally extends east-west from Chute Road to Presumpscot River and north-south from Primer Way to Willis Farm Road generally along the corridor of Route 202, Route 237, Mosher Road Route 237 and Newell Street.
In the 20 years since the original Master Plan was adopted, the towns have implemented a number of the recommendations of the Master Plan and have developed additional projects within the area.
It has been over 20 years since “A Plan for the Revitalization of South Windham-Little Falls
Village” was written and much has changed locally and in the world at large. Over that time, despite efforts such as rezoning, economic activity has dwindled in the village as it has struggled to transition from industrial business-centered to retail and service commercial enterprise-focused. It no longer has a general store. Much of the housing is aging, as are the residents, and planning is needed to ensure the future housing and transportation options in the area matches the needs of the community. The village pedestrian infrastructure is fragmented and existing public assets such as recreation facilities and a post office may require a disjointed, unsafe or in some cases insufficient sidewalk route.
The proposed revitalization master planning process and outcome will engage the diverse local community in visioning and planning, including minority, underrepresented and low-income populations, and the aligned investment strategy upon implementation of the plan (beyond scope of the requested planning) will engage both traditional investors as well as a broad array of individuals in the community, diverse in ethnicity, MHI (Median Household Income), affluence, gender, age, and ability. It will also seek to develop opportunities for a local workforce.
The area is designated as low/moderate income and has been since the existing plan was written 20 years ago. If intervention in the form of joint planning and effort to improve the functionality and livability of the area does not happen, it will most likely continue to deteriorate, and the effort required to revive it, and make it a productive center of commerce and community will increase in a negative-feedback pattern, as blight and decay begets more blight and decay. It is imperative that visible effort is made now, to instead start a positive feedback pattern now.
The towns seek and are pleased to invite interested individuals, agencies, and/or teams (each, a "Respondent") to submit a response to this RFP (each, a "Response") to develop a Revitalization Master Plan that will invite grassroots input and include implementation and investment strategies to guide development and reinvestment, with the goal of bringing these village areas to their highest and best potential.
Study Area and Overview
The study area generally extends east-west from Chute Road to Presumpscot River and north-south from Primer Way to Willis Farm Road generally along the corridor of Route 202, Route 237, Mosher Road Route 237 and Newell Street.
In the 20 years since the original Master Plan was adopted, the towns have implemented a number of the recommendations of the Master Plan and have developed additional projects within the area.
It has been over 20 years since “A Plan for the Revitalization of South Windham-Little Falls
Village” was written and much has changed locally and in the world at large. Over that time, despite efforts such as rezoning, economic activity has dwindled in the village as it has struggled to transition from industrial business-centered to retail and service commercial enterprise-focused. It no longer has a general store. Much of the housing is aging, as are the residents, and planning is needed to ensure the future housing and transportation options in the area matches the needs of the community. The village pedestrian infrastructure is fragmented and existing public assets such as recreation facilities and a post office may require a disjointed, unsafe or in some cases insufficient sidewalk route.
The proposed revitalization master planning process and outcome will engage the diverse local community in visioning and planning, including minority, underrepresented and low-income populations, and the aligned investment strategy upon implementation of the plan (beyond scope of the requested planning) will engage both traditional investors as well as a broad array of individuals in the community, diverse in ethnicity, MHI (Median Household Income), affluence, gender, age, and ability. It will also seek to develop opportunities for a local workforce.
For a full and complete description, please review the RFP in its entirety on the home page of the Town of Gorham's website. https://www.gorham-me.org/