Senator Collins Announces $30 Million Grant for Lewiston to Revitalize Tree Streets Neighborhood

Washington, D.C.—U.S. Senator Susan Collins, the Ranking Member of the Housing Appropriations Subcommittee, announced today that Lewiston Housing Authority and the City of Lewiston will receive a $30 million grant through the highly competitive Choice Neighborhoods Initiative Program.

Senator Collins has championed Lewiston’s “Growing Our Tree Streets” plan, which will redevelop the Tree Streets area in Lewiston.  In 2018, she secured a $1.3 million grant, which provided the City of Lewiston and Community Concepts with the resources to draft the proposal.  Additionally, in 2019, she hosted then-HUD Secretary Ben Carson in Lewiston, where they toured the Tree Street Youth Center and spoke with various stakeholders about how the Choice Neighborhoods Grant program will help revitalize the Tree Street neighborhood.  Earlier this year, she sent a letter to HUD in support of Lewiston’s grant application.  

“This funding will be truly transformational for the entire city as well as its citizens and will help Lewiston achieve its vision to revitalize its downtown,” said Senator Collins.  “By taking a holistic approach to housing, people, and community, this project will redevelop the Tree Streets neighborhood and provide residents with new educational and career resources to help families break cycles of poverty.  As the Ranking Member of the Housing Appropriations Committee, I championed Lewiston’s grant application and spoke directly with HUD leaders about the monumental impact the project will have on the health, safety, and overall wellbeing of Mainers.”

This $30 million project will transform a neighborhood with the highest concentration of childhood lead poisoning and families in poverty and Maine’s lowest performing schools into a lead-free, economically diverse, and welcoming community.  The project will redevelop and construct 185 mixed income units on three sites that are fully controlled by the Lewiston Housing Authority.  The funding would also allow Community Concepts to support residents of the neighborhood with additional workforce, education, and health care resources.

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