The week of April 1-6 will be celebrated as National Community Development Week in support of the Community Development Block Grant Program, which has assisted Midcoast communities with numerous projects. Enacted in 1974 by Congress and administered at the state level by the Maine Department of Economic and Community Development, it is the principal federal program providing grants to Maine towns and cities to help with downtown and neighborhood physical, economic and social improvements. At the federal level it is administered by the Department of Housing and Urban Development.

The program allowed Rockland to correct apartment building code violations, undertake downtown revitalization, remedy long standing storm water flooding problems, and to make physical improvements to the front and rear exterior facades of historic Main Street buildings. Belfast has used its CDBG funds for waterfront redevelopment, economic development, refurbishing the downtown infrastructure and taking steps to rehabilitate its substantial multi-family housing stock.  Likewise Thomaston has taken advantage of the CDBG program to preserve and enhance its anchor downtown historic business block involving substantial renovations to upper level apartments, front and rear building façade upgrades  as well as  new sidewalks, curbing and street lighting.

Similarly, Camden is strategically deploying CDBG funds to address the issue of affordable work force housing by making it possible for lower income first-time home buyers to purchase newly constructed homes with gap or bridge financing enabling them to live in Camden.

Since 2010 the CDBG program has been cut by 26 percent nationally from $3.99 billion to $2.95 billion leading to decreases in state CDBG allocation funding; however, despite decreased funding and fiercer state-wide competition for scarcer dollars communities like Belfast continue to actively pursue CDBG assistance. In Belfast’s case they are applying this year for three grants for building façade improvements and economic development.

In summary, CDBG funds are still available but municipalities now have to work harder, do more planning and be more creative in order to be successful and if not, be willing to try again.