NORWAY – The move to develop the C.B. Cummings & Son mill property is still alive despite a $400,000 setback.

Quick refurbishing of the property to make it attractive to investors was dependent on a $400,000 Community Development Block Grant that never materialized.

“Grants are never assured,” said Brett Doney, chief executive office of Western Maine Development, owner and developer of the land.

He said perhaps the grant submitted concentrated too much on the physical side of the property, because of the amount of refurbishing needed. He said more on the potential use and users of the site and more about what is going to happen there could have improved the success of the grant.

“We had heard that they planned to fund two or three downtown revitalization grants,” Doney said. “We think (the Department of Economic and Community Development) took the money and spread it over smaller grants.”

Doney said his group learned from the failure and will have a stronger presentation next year when another round of funding becomes available.

He also said Western Maine Development is not going to just sit on what was realized as a high risk project from the beginning.

Western Maine Development purchased the land from the Cummings family for $100,000, which was 25 percent of what the property had been listed for on the market.

Doney said so far Western Maine Development had borrowed $150,000 from Norway Savings Bank for the project and has spent $165,000. He estimates up to $1.2 million could be needed to make the five buildings attractive for investment.

He said some board members are concerned about the amount of risk of the project and that the executive committee has told him to develop an exit plan from the project.

But he’s not quitting on the project.

Doney said the most immediate move would be to rent out or possibly sell the office building that faces Bridge Street. He also would like to do something with the 4,000 square feet of the former machine shop, which is adjacent to the office building.

“I’m also looking at salvage operations,” Doney said. “Like take down the duct work and maybe trade salvage for demolition work.”

He also said he is reducing the electrical services to the mill site because the current plan means a minimum of an $800 charge every month.

Doney has been in the real estate and business project development for more than nine years.

“There’s been many tough challenges. This isn’t any harder than the others,” Doney said. “We tend to take on the hard projects. That’s our mission.”

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