BELFAST — Front Street Shipyard and the City of Belfast are working together to obtain funds through the Community Development Block Grant Economic Development Program to purchase the equipment and utility vehicles necessary to outfit its soon-to-be constructed "Building Six." The equipment would include cranes, curtain walls, a compressor, an air filtration system, piping and scissor lifts. The utility vehicles to be purchased would include a fork truck and a pickup truck. This equipment and these utility vehicles are necessary to be able to use Building Six to its fullest capacity, according to a news release.

"Building Six will expand Front Street Shipyard's capacity for large vessels," said JB Turner, president of Front Street Shipyard, in a news release. "With additional shop space and new additions to our staff, we'll be able to attract more recreational yachts to the Midcoast Maine area, which we see as a benefit to our neighboring businesses as well as our own."

Belfast Economic Development Director Thomas Kittredge said in the news release: "The City of Belfast is excited to continue our effective partnership with Front Street Shipyard, by assisting them in securing this funding that is necessary for the next phase of their expansion. We have been so pleased to have had Front Street Shipyard here in Belfast for the last four years, providing quality jobs to our community, as well as investing in and revitalizing our waterfront, and we are looking forward to the next stage of their growth."

The current estimated total budget for the proposed project is $532,660; the City of Belfast and Front Street Shipyard will be applying for grant funding to cover 50 percent of that amount ($266,330), with the remainder of the costs to be covered by Front Street Shipyard's cash flows and lines of credit.

As part of this project, Front Street Shipyard will also create 10 new full-time positions (carpenters, composite technicians, mechanics, and painters), with at least six of those positions being taken by individuals from low-to-moderate income households.

As part of the citizen-participation process for this grant application, the City of Belfast will be holding a public hearing on the grant application immediately prior to its regularly-scheduled City Council meeting at 7 p.m. Tuesday, April 7.

A decision on the grant is expected in late June. For more information regarding this grant, visit www.cityofbelfast.org/frontstreetshipyard.

Comments regarding the grant can be sent at any time up to April 24 to Thomas Kittredge, economic development director, Belfast City Hall, 131 Church Street, Belfast, Maine 04915, or via email at economicdevelopment@cityofbelfast.org.

The CDBG program's primary objective is to develop viable communities by providing decent housing and a suitable living environment and by expanding economic opportunities, principally for persons of low- and moderate-income.