CONSTRUCTION UPDATE (As of March 12, 2021)
In early February, construction crews began laying the pre-cast concrete structures that will form the Pearl Street parking garage. Work is moving along quickly! The garage is expected to be open to the public by July 2021.
August 2020 - City and Project Partners Break Ground on Biddeford’s First Parking Garage
Photo Courtesy: The Knight Canney Group
The City of Biddeford, Treadwell Franklin Infrastructure Capital (‘TFIC’), Amber Infrastructure Group (‘Amber’) and PC Construction broke ground on a 640-space parking garage on the city-owned 3 Lincoln Street property on Tuesday.
The garage will support parking needs for development of Biddeford’s Mill District, including the future mixed-use development set for the 3 Lincoln Street site as well as the Lincoln Mill and Riverdam Mill redevelopment projects already underway. It will also relieve the existing parking pressures in Biddeford’s growing downtown.
“This parking garage is a critical piece in the redevelopment and reemergence of Biddeford as a desirable community,” Mayor Alan Casavant said during the ceremony. “It shatters the old stereotype of the city being nothing more than a dying mill town, it provides the needed parking spaces to be a catalyst for future development within the district, and it is a symbol of pride in who we are as a people.”
In September 2019, the Biddeford City Council directed the City Manager to enter into an agreement with TFIC to complete the City’s RiverWalk project and to develop and manage the City’s new parking garage and nearby surface parking lots. TFIC joined with Amber, a frequent collaborative partner, for execution of the development projects.
The City’s Progressive Development Agreement with its project partners allows the construction to be completed without the use of residential property tax dollars and with no impact on Biddeford’s tax rate. Instead, the City will contribute to the project through two sources: annual payments from the City’s Tax Increment Financing (TIF) revenues, which do not come from residential property taxpayers, and fee revenues collected from the operation of the parking garage and downtown surface lots.
“Amber is delighted to have been able to accelerate the delivery of the City of Biddeford’s critical infrastructure plans,” said Tom O’Shaughnessy, Head of Amber Infrastructure US. “We are pleased to be working with the City of Biddeford and helping to deliver key components of the City’s plan for the redevelopment of the Downtown Mill District.”
“TFIC is grateful to its partner, Amber, and likewise to Mayor Casavant, Biddeford’s City Council and Staff, for their foresight and dedication to these projects, especially in challenging times and economic uncertainties,” said Stephen Jones, President/CEO of TFIC. “We are proud to become a part of the Biddeford community and look forward to participating in reinvigorating the local economy.”
Artist's Rendition of the Completed Project