The proposed Oxford Business Park was recently awarded a

$232,500 grant.
By Gail Geraghty
Staff Writer

OXFORD – A public hearing will be held Thursday to determine support for Western Maine Development’s proposed Oxford Business Park on Route 26.

The hearing at town hall will begin at 6 p.m., preceding the regular selectmen’s meeting at 6:30 p.m.

The 40-acre park, consisting of four large industrial lots, was recently awarded a $232,500 grant for infrastructure improvements under the state’s new Municipal Investment Trust Fund program.

Western Maine Development’s Marcy Boughter said the trust fund money will pay for creation of public infrastructure at the park, including three-phase power, minor wetland mitigation, and the construction of a new access road from Route 26 to the Number Six Road.

The funds will also pay for the park’s entranceway and signs, she said.

The park, part of land designated as a Pine Tree Development Zone, already has one business interested in developing the lot closest to Route 26, Boughter said. That business and any others that locate in the park will benefit from Pine Tree Zone tax incentives. A Tax Increment Financing District is also planned for the park.

The town of Oxford, in turn, has agreed to make $85,000 in improvements on the Number Six Road, which borders the park on one side.

Oxford is one of 26 Maine communities that were awarded MITF grants from the Office of Community Development. Western Maine Development was also awarded $500,000 from the trust fund program to renovate the Odd Fellows building on Main Street in Norway, which will house the new Western Maine Enterprise Center.